AeroVironment (AVAV) Competitors

Heico (NYSE:HEI) and AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, risk and earnings.

Which has more risk & volatility, HEI or AVAV?

Heico has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AeroVironment has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor HEI or AVAV?

In the previous week, AeroVironment had 17 more articles in the media than Heico. MarketBeat recorded 37 mentions for AeroVironment and 20 mentions for Heico. AeroVironment's average media sentiment score of 0.88 beat Heico's score of 0.84 indicating that AeroVironment is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Heico	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AeroVironment	16 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, HEI or AVAV?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heico	$3.86B	11.17	$514.11M	$4.28	72.40
AeroVironment	$820.63M	14.59	$43.62M	$1.55	154.74

Do analysts recommend HEI or AVAV?

Heico currently has a consensus target price of $307.18, suggesting a potential downside of 0.87%. AeroVironment has a consensus target price of $286.46, suggesting a potential upside of 19.44%. Given AeroVironment's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AeroVironment is more favorable than Heico.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heico	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
AeroVironment	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.16

Is HEI or AVAV more profitable?

Heico has a net margin of 14.54% compared to AeroVironment's net margin of 5.32%. Heico's return on equity of 15.88% beat AeroVironment's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heico	14.54%	15.88%	7.76%
AeroVironment	5.32%	10.68%	8.80%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in HEI or AVAV?

27.1% of Heico shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of AeroVironment shares are held by institutional investors. 9.6% of Heico shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of AeroVironment shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

AeroVironment beats Heico on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.