Analyzing Japan Steel Works (OTCMKTS:JPSWY) and ATS (NYSE:ATS)

Japan Steel Works (OTCMKTS:JPSWY) and ATS (NYSE:ATS) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Japan Steel Works has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ATS has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Japan Steel Works and ATS, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Japan Steel Works	0	0	0	0	0.00
ATS	1	2	0	0	1.67

ATS has a consensus price target of $30.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.23%. Given ATS’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ATS is more favorable than Japan Steel Works.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.8% of ATS shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Japan Steel Works and ATS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Japan Steel Works	6.95%	9.95%	4.94%
ATS	-1.44%	7.79%	2.95%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Japan Steel Works and ATS”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Japan Steel Works	$1.63 billion	3.02	$118.54 million	$0.85	39.02
ATS	$1.82 billion	1.54	-$20.16 million	($0.27)	-106.33

Japan Steel Works has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ATS. ATS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Japan Steel Works, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Japan Steel Works beats ATS on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Japan Steel Works

The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. engages in the provision of industrial machinery products, and material and engineering business in Japan and internationally. It operates through Industrial Machinery Products Business, and Material and Engineering Business segments. The Industrial Machinery Products Business segment offers plastic production and processing machinery, such as pelletizers, film and sheet manufacturing equipment, and twin-screw extruders; molding machines including plastic injection molding, magnesium injection molding, and blow molding machines; and other machinery consists of excimer laser annealing systems, defense equipment, railway products, hot press devices, vacuum laminators, and deposit systems, as well as after-sales services for plastics, mobility, high-performance batteries, electronic devices, and defense applications. The Material and Engineering Business segment provides steel casting and forgings, such as reactor and steam generator parts, rotor shafts, turbine casings, die steel, steel rolls for steel manufacturing, and clad steel plates; and engineering and other services, including design and analysis, welded structures, inspection and survey, and hydrogen pressure accumulators and related products for use in power generation equipment, renewable energy, and infrastructure applications. The company offers photonics, composite materials, and metallic materials for use in semiconductors and electronic devices, cameras and sensing devices, aircraft and mobility components, and electronic parts. The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Shinagawa, Japan.

About ATS

ATS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automation solutions worldwide. The company is also involved in planning, designing, building, commissioning, and servicing automated manufacturing and assembly systems, including automation products and test solutions. In addition, it offers pre-automation services comprising discovery and analysis, concept development, simulation, and total cost of ownership modelling; post automation services, including training, process optimization, preventative maintenance, emergency and on-call support, spare parts, retooling, retrofits, and equipment relocation; and contract manufacturing services, as well as after sales and services. Further, the company provides engineering design, prototyping, process verification, specification writing, software and manufacturing process controls development, standard automation products/platforms, equipment design and build, third-party equipment qualification, procurement and integration, automation system installation, product line commissioning, validation, and documentation services. Additionally, it offers value engineering, supply chain management, and integration and manufacturing capabilities, as well as other automation products and solutions; and software and digital solutions comprising connected factory floor management systems to capture, analyze, and use real time machine performance data to troubleshoot, deliver process and product solutions, prevent equipment downtime, drive operational efficiency, and unlock performance for sustainable production improvements. ATS Corporation serves life sciences, transportation and mobility, consumer products, food and beverage, electronics, nuclear, packaging, warehousing and distribution, and energy markets. The company was formerly known as ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. and changed its name to ATS Corporation in November 2022. ATS Corporation was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Canada.