Critical Comparison: Halfords Group (OTCMKTS:HLFDY) & Magna International (NYSE:MGA)

Magna International (NYSE:MGA) and Halfords Group (OTCMKTS:HLFDY) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Magna International and Halfords Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Magna International	1	14	3	0	2.11
Halfords Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

Magna International currently has a consensus target price of $50.33, suggesting a potential downside of 6.00%. Given Magna International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Magna International is more favorable than Halfords Group.

Risk and Volatility

Magna International has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Halfords Group has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Magna International pays an annual dividend of $1.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Halfords Group pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Magna International pays out 53.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Magna International has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Magna International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.5% of Magna International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Magna International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Magna International and Halfords Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Magna International	2.50%	11.88%	4.59%
Halfords Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Magna International and Halfords Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Magna International	$41.79 billion	0.36	$1.01 billion	$3.66	14.63
Halfords Group	$2.19 billion	0.19	-$42.87 million	N/A	N/A

Magna International has higher revenue and earnings than Halfords Group.

Summary

Magna International beats Halfords Group on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Magna International

Magna International Inc. designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles. The Body Exteriors & Structures segment provides body and chassis system, battery enclosures, and engineering and testing; and exteriors, including fascia and trims, front end modules, integration panels, liftgate modules, active aerodynamics, engineered glass, running boards, truck bed access products, breakthrough lightings, side doors, and greenhouse products. The Power & Vision segment offers electric drive systems and components, such as emotors, inverters, onboard chargers, gearboxes, and e-clutch; dedicated hybrid drives, dual and hybrid dual clutch, and manual transmissions; AWD/4WD products and rear drive modules; transmission, driveline components, and ICE; far camera module, remote camera heads, interior sensing camera, radars, thermal sensing, and domain controllers; interior and exterior mirrors, camera monitoring system driver/occupant monitoring systems, and smart actuators; forward and rear lighting, and lit grilles/panels/displays; latching system, door modules, charge port doors, power system, hinges, and door handles; and modular and textile folding roofs, and hard and soft tops. The Seating Systems segment provides seat structures, mechanism and hardware solutions, and foam and trim products. The Complete Vehicles segment offers vehicle engineering and manufacturing services. Magna International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Aurora, Canada.

About Halfords Group

Halfords Group plc, through its subsidiaries, provides motoring and cycling products and services in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The company operates through two segments, Retail and Car Servicing. The Retail segment is involved in the retail of automotive, leisure, cycling products and accessories, auto parts, and accessories through its stores and online. The Car Servicing segment provides car servicing and repair services from garages and mobile vans. The company also provides software as a service. Halfords Group plc was founded in 1892 and is based in Redditch, the United Kingdom.