Airbus (OTCMKTS:EADSF) and Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) Head-To-Head Analysis

Airbus (OTCMKTS:EADSF) and Elbit Systems (NASDAQ:ESLT) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Airbus and Elbit Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Airbus	0	0	0	0	0.00
Elbit Systems	0	5	0	0	2.00

Elbit Systems has a consensus target price of $870.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.71%. Given Elbit Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Elbit Systems is more favorable than Airbus.

Profitability

This table compares Airbus and Elbit Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Airbus	N/A	N/A	N/A
Elbit Systems	7.44%	16.66%	5.39%

Dividends

Airbus pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Elbit Systems pays an annual dividend of $3.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Airbus pays out 35.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Elbit Systems pays out 25.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Elbit Systems has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Elbit Systems is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.9% of Airbus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.9% of Elbit Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Elbit Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Airbus and Elbit Systems”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Airbus	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.12	107.48
Elbit Systems	$7.94 billion	3.94	$534.34 million	$13.27	53.00

Elbit Systems has higher revenue and earnings than Airbus. Elbit Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Airbus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Elbit Systems beats Airbus on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Airbus

Airbus SE, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and delivery of aerospace products, services, and solutions worldwide. It operates through three segments: Airbus, Airbus Helicopters, and Airbus Defence and Space. The Airbus segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells commercial jet passenger aircraft, freighter aircraft, regional turboprop aircraft, and aircraft components, as well as provides aircraft conversion and related services. The Airbus Helicopters segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells civil and military helicopters; and provides helicopter-related services. The Airbus Defence and Space segment designs, develops, delivers, and supports military air systems and related services. This segment also offers civil and defence space systems for telecommunications, earth observations, navigation, and science and orbital systems; missile and space launcher systems; and services around data processing from platforms, secure communication, and cyber security. The company was formerly known as Airbus Group SE and changed its name to Airbus SE in April 2017. Airbus SE was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands.

About Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. develops and supplies a portfolio of airborne, land, and naval systems and products for the defense, homeland security, and commercial aviation applications primarily in Israel. The company operates through Aerospace, C4I and Cyber, ISTAR and EW, Land, and Elbit Systems of America segments. It also offers military aircraft and helicopter systems; commercial aviation systems and aerostructures; unmanned aircraft systems; electro-optic, night vision, and countermeasures systems; naval systems; land vehicle systems; munitions, such as precision munitions for land, air, and sea applications; command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and cyber systems; electronic warfare and signal intelligence systems; and other commercial activities. In addition, the company manufactures and sells data links and radio communication systems and equipment, and cyber intelligence, autonomous, and homeland security solutions. Further, it provides various electronic warfare and signal intelligence systems, and laser systems; armored vehicle and other platforms survivability and protection systems, artillery, and mortar systems, as well as provides various training and support services. Additionally, the company offers products and systems solutions to military, homeland security, medical instrumentation, and commercial aviation clients. It markets its systems and products as a prime contractor or subcontractor to various governments and companies. It also has operations in Israel, North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is based in Haifa, Israel.