Financial Contrast: Nikon (NINOY) and Its Peers

Nikon (OTCMKTS:NINOY) is one of 377 public companies in the “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Nikon to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Nikon pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nikon pays out -5.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.9% and pay out 81.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Nikon has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nikon’s competitors have a beta of -0.30, indicating that their average stock price is 130% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Nikon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.3% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are held by institutional investors. 16.4% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Nikon and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nikon	-13.88%	-15.50%	-8.46%
Nikon Competitors	-158.11%	-25.88%	-6.86%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Nikon and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nikon	0	1	0	0	2.00
Nikon Competitors	2047	7603	10429	662	2.47

As a group, “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies have a potential upside of 38.28%. Given Nikon’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nikon has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Nikon and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nikon	$4.50 billion	-$568.18 million	-5.53
Nikon Competitors	$4.13 billion	$172.92 million	3.96

Nikon has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its competitors. Nikon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Nikon competitors beat Nikon on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

Nikon Company Profile

Nikon Corporation manufactures and sells optical instruments in Japan, North America, Europe, China, Thailand, and internationally. It operates through Imaging Products Business, Precision Equipment Business, Healthcare Business, Components Business, and Industrial equipment and Others segments. The Imaging Products Business segment provides digital SLR cameras, compact digital cameras, and interchangeable camera lenses. The Precision Equipment Business segment offers FPD lithography systems and semiconductor lithography systems. The Healthcare Business segment provides biological microscopes, cell culture observation systems, and ultra-wide field retinal imaging devices, as well as products and services related to the contract cell development and manufacturing field. The Components Business segment offers optical components, optical parts, encoders, and material processing products and services; EUV-related components and space-related solutions; and photomask substrates for FPDs. The Industrial equipment and Others segment provides industrial microscopes, non-contact 3D metrology systems, measuring instruments, X-ray/CT inspection systems, and surveying instruments. In addition, it sells used equipment; provides maintenance services for FPD/semiconductor lithography systems; sells and services cameras, microscopes, measuring instruments, and X-ray inspection equipment; and develops and supports computer software. Further, the company is involved in the procurement, logistics, and welfare activities; development, manufacturing, and testing services for eyeglass and lenses; and assembly of camera units. Nikon Corporation was incorporated in 1917 and is headquartered in Minato, Japan.