Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) vs. General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Critical Survey

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) and General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Curtiss-Wright and General Dynamics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Curtiss-Wright	$3.74 billion	4.64	$484.23 million	$14.99	31.92
General Dynamics	$52.55 billion	1.89	$4.21 billion	$17.00	21.62

General Dynamics has higher revenue and earnings than Curtiss-Wright. General Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Curtiss-Wright, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Curtiss-Wright and General Dynamics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Curtiss-Wright	14.86%	21.08%	10.38%
General Dynamics	8.24%	17.60%	7.87%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Curtiss-Wright and General Dynamics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Curtiss-Wright	0	4	3	0	2.43
General Dynamics	1	5	11	0	2.59

Curtiss-Wright currently has a consensus price target of $636.75, indicating a potential upside of 33.07%. General Dynamics has a consensus price target of $408.94, indicating a potential upside of 11.28%. Given Curtiss-Wright’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Curtiss-Wright is more favorable than General Dynamics.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.7% of Curtiss-Wright shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of General Dynamics shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Curtiss-Wright shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of General Dynamics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Curtiss-Wright pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. General Dynamics pays an annual dividend of $6.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Curtiss-Wright pays out 6.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. General Dynamics pays out 37.4% 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. Curtiss-Wright has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years and General Dynamics has raised its dividend for 34 consecutive years. General Dynamics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Curtiss-Wright has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, General Dynamics has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

General Dynamics beats Curtiss-Wright on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a diversified industrial company that develops and manufactures engineered products and provides services for the aerospace, defense, power-generation and general industrial markets. Its offerings include actuation and control systems, sensors, valves and pumps, and embedded computing and electronics. The company serves customers around the world, including aircraft manufacturers and operators, defense contractors, government agencies, and commercial nuclear power providers.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that develops and manufactures products and provides services for commercial, government and military customers. Its businesses span aerospace, marine systems, combat systems and defense technologies. The company makes Gulfstream business jets and provides aircraft services. Its marine systems operations design and build submarines and surface ships, while its combat systems business produces military vehicles, weapons systems and munitions.