Analyzing DEFSEC Technologies (NASDAQ:DFSC) & Austal (OTCMKTS:AUTLF)

DEFSEC Technologies (NASDAQ:DFSC) and Austal (OTCMKTS:AUTLF) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares DEFSEC Technologies and Austal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DEFSEC Technologies	-195.30%	-160.64%	-95.30%
Austal	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for DEFSEC Technologies and Austal, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DEFSEC Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00
Austal	0	0	0	0	0.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

21.4% of DEFSEC Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Austal shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares DEFSEC Technologies and Austal”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DEFSEC Technologies	$3.53 million	0.80	-$6.88 million	($25.94)	-0.08
Austal	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.09	66.11

Austal has lower revenue, but higher earnings than DEFSEC Technologies. DEFSEC Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Austal, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Austal beats DEFSEC Technologies on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DEFSEC Technologies

DEFSEC develops and commercializes breakthrough next-generation tactical systems for military and security forces. The Company’s current portfolio of offerings includes digitization of tactical forces for real-time shared situational awareness and targeting information from any source (including drones) streamed directly to users’ smart devices and weapons. Other DEFSEC products include countermeasures against threats such as electronic detection, lasers and drones. These systems can operate stand-alone or integrate seamlessly with OEM products and battlefield management systems, and all come integrated with TAK. The Company also has a new proprietary non-lethal product line branded PARA OPSTM with applications across all segments of the non-lethal market, including law enforcement. The Company is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with representative offices in London, UK and Abu Dhabi, UAE.

About Austal

Austal Limited engages in the design, manufacture, and support of vessels for commercial and defense customers worldwide. It operates in four segments: USA Shipbuilding, USA Support, Australasia Shipbuilding, and Australasia Support. The company offers passenger only ferries, vehicle passenger ferries, and offshore and windfarm vessels; and naval and other defense vessels, as well as patrol boats for government law enforcement and border protection agencies. It also develops and integrates advanced vessel control and information management systems, including MARINELINK, an integrated monitoring and control system; and motion control systems and interceptors. In addition, the company provides life capability management and vessel support services, such as crew training and instruction, vessel servicing, repair and maintenance, integrated logistics support, vessel sustainment, and information management systems support, as well as refits and manages annual dockings to naval, government, and commercial operators. Further, it offers contract maintenance, aluminum vessels brokerage, and consultancy services to commercial and defense fleet operators, as well as manufactures and sells vessel parts, equipment, consumables, and tooling products. Austal Limited was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Henderson, Australia.