First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
67.7% of First Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Viavi Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of First Solar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Viavi Solutions shares are held by 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.
Volatility & Risk
First Solar has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viavi Solutions has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for First Solar and Viavi Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| First Solar | 6 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1.82 |
| Viavi Solutions | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2.86 |
First Solar currently has a consensus price target of $90.6875, suggesting a potential upside of 13.16%. Viavi Solutions has a consensus price target of $17.6429, suggesting a potential upside of 6.28%. Given First Solar's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe First Solar is more favorable than Viavi Solutions.
Profitability
This table compares First Solar and Viavi Solutions' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| First Solar | 6.38% | 9.49% | 6.95% |
| Viavi Solutions | 3.23% | 18.19% | 7.30% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares First Solar and Viavi Solutions' top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| First Solar | $3.06 billion | 2.78 | $-114,930,000.00 | $1.48 | 54.15 |
| Viavi Solutions | $1.14 billion | 3.34 | $28.70 million | $0.58 | 28.62 |
Viavi Solutions has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Solar. Viavi Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Solar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Viavi Solutions beats First Solar on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
