Head to Head Survey: General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) vs. StandardAero (NYSE:SARO)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyStandardAero (NYSE:SARO – Get Free Report) and General Dynamics (NYSE:GD – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares StandardAero and General Dynamics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| StandardAero | $6.06 billion | 1.50 | $277.42 million | $0.97 | 28.36 |
| General Dynamics | $52.55 billion | 1.82 | $4.21 billion | $17.00 | 20.82 |
General Dynamics has higher revenue and earnings than StandardAero. General Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than StandardAero, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
86.1% of General Dynamics shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of StandardAero shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of General Dynamics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for StandardAero and General Dynamics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| StandardAero | 0 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2.73 |
| General Dynamics | 1 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 2.59 |
StandardAero presently has a consensus target price of $33.27, indicating a potential upside of 20.96%. General Dynamics has a consensus target price of $408.94, indicating a potential upside of 15.56%. Given StandardAero’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe StandardAero is more favorable than General Dynamics.
Profitability
This table compares StandardAero and General Dynamics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| StandardAero | 5.46% | 16.42% | 6.62% |
| General Dynamics | 8.24% | 17.60% | 7.87% |
Volatility & Risk
StandardAero has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, General Dynamics has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
General Dynamics beats StandardAero on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About StandardAero
StandardAero, Inc. provides aerospace engine aftermarket services for fixed and rotary wing aircraft in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Rest of Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Engine Services and Component Repair Services. The Engine Services segment provides a suite of aftermarket services, including maintenance, repair and overhaul, on-wing and field service support, asset management, and engineering and related solutions to customers in the commercial aerospace, military and helicopter, and business aviation end markets. The Component Repair Services segment offers engine component and accessory repairs to the commercial aerospace, military and helicopter, land and marine, and oil and gas end markets. The company was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.
About General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services. The Marine Systems segment designs and builds nuclear-powered submarines, surface combatants, and auxiliary ships for the United States Navy and Jones Act ships for commercial customers, as well as builds crude oil and product tankers, and container and cargo ships; provides maintenance, modernization, and lifecycle support services for navy ships; offers and program management, planning, engineering, and design support services for submarine construction programs. The Combat Systems segment manufactures land combat solutions, such as wheeled and tracked combat vehicles, Stryker wheeled combat vehicles, piranha vehicles, weapons systems, munitions, mobile bridge systems with payloads, tactical vehicles, main battle tanks, armored vehicles, and armaments; and offers modernization programs, engineering, support, and sustainment services. The Technologies segment provides information technology solutions and mission support services; mobile communication, computers, and command-and-control mission systems; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions to military, intelligence, and federal civilian customers; cloud computing, artificial intelligence; machine learning; big data analytics; development, security, and operations; and unmanned undersea vehicle manufacturing and assembly services. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.