Financial Contrast: Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) and ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA)
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyWoodward (NASDAQ:WWD – Get Free Report) and ZenaTech (NASDAQ:ZENA – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Woodward and ZenaTech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Woodward | 13.17% | 21.89% | 11.38% |
| ZenaTech | -332.51% | N/A | -78.90% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
81.2% of Woodward shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Woodward shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Woodward and ZenaTech”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Woodward | $4.19 billion | 4.59 | $442.11 million | $8.99 | 36.24 |
| ZenaTech | $9.24 million | 3.64 | -$32.36 million | ($1.42) | -1.05 |
Woodward has higher revenue and earnings than ZenaTech. ZenaTech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Woodward, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Woodward and ZenaTech, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Woodward | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2.85 |
| ZenaTech | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 |
Woodward currently has a consensus target price of $416.18, suggesting a potential upside of 27.74%. ZenaTech has a consensus target price of $4.50, suggesting a potential upside of 201.00%. Given ZenaTech’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ZenaTech is more favorable than Woodward.
Risk and Volatility
Woodward has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZenaTech has a beta of 7.21, suggesting that its stock price is 621% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Woodward beats ZenaTech on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Woodward
Woodward, Inc. designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft. These products are used on commercial and private aircraft and rotorcraft, as well as on military fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft, guided weapons, and other defense systems. It also provides aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul, and other services to commercial airlines, repair facilities, military depots, third party repair shops, and other end users. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tier-one suppliers, and contractors, as well as through aftermarket sales of components, such as provisioning spares and replacements. The Industrial segment offers actuators, valves, pumps, fuel injection systems, solenoids, ignition systems, speed controls, electronics and software, and sensors. These products are used on industrial gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors, and reciprocating engines. This segment sells its aftermarket products, and other related services to OEMs through an independent network of distributors, as well as directly to end users. The company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.
About ZenaTech
ZenaTech, Inc., an enterprise software technology company, develops cloud-based software applications in Canada. It provides cryptocurrency wallets and cloud-based enterprise software solutions for the agriculture industry; cloud-based enterprise software solutions for the medical records industry; safety and compliance management software and mobile solutions; field management software and mobile solutions; integrated cloud-based enterprise software and hardware drone technology solutions for various industries; and browser-based enterprise software applications for public safety. ZenaTech, Inc. was formerly known as ZenaDrone, Inc. and changed its name to ZenaTech, Inc. on October 5, 2020. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Toronto, Canada.