Autoliv (ALV) Competitors

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) and Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) are both mid-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Is ALV or GNTX a better dividend stock?

Autoliv pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gentex pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Autoliv pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Gentex pays out 27.1% 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. Autoliv has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Autoliv is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, ALV or GNTX?

Autoliv has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gentex has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ALV or GNTX?

Autoliv has higher revenue and earnings than Gentex. Autoliv is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gentex, 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
Autoliv	$10.39B	0.84	$647M	$9.14	12.39
Gentex	$2.38B	2.51	$404.49M	$1.77	15.06

Do analysts recommend ALV or GNTX?

Autoliv currently has a consensus target price of $120.64, suggesting a potential upside of 6.50%. Gentex has a consensus target price of $28.63, suggesting a potential upside of 7.37%. Given Gentex's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Gentex is more favorable than Autoliv.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autoliv	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.84
Gentex	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Does the media refer more to ALV or GNTX?

In the previous week, Autoliv had 3 more articles in the media than Gentex. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Autoliv and 9 mentions for Gentex. Gentex's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Autoliv's score of 1.20 indicating that Gentex is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Autoliv	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Gentex	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ALV or GNTX more profitable?

Gentex has a net margin of 16.82% compared to Autoliv's net margin of 6.83%. Autoliv's return on equity of 30.73% beat Gentex's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autoliv	6.83%	30.73%	8.86%
Gentex	16.82%	16.86%	14.90%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ALV or GNTX?

69.6% of Autoliv shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.8% of Gentex shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Autoliv shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Gentex shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Autoliv beats Gentex on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.