Critical Survey: LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) & Westport Fuel Systems (NASDAQ:WPRT)

LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) and Westport Fuel Systems (NASDAQ:WPRT) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares LCI Industries and Westport Fuel Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LCI Industries	3.93%	11.57%	5.27%
Westport Fuel Systems	-16.85%	-16.12%	-7.34%

Volatility & Risk

LCI Industries has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westport Fuel Systems has a beta of 2.88, indicating that its share price is 188% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.7% of LCI Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.3% of Westport Fuel Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of LCI Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Westport Fuel Systems shares are owned by 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LCI Industries and Westport Fuel Systems”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LCI Industries	$3.74 billion	0.66	$142.87 million	$5.99	17.00
Westport Fuel Systems	$293.58 million	0.17	-$21.84 million	($2.93)	-0.97

LCI Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Westport Fuel Systems. Westport Fuel Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LCI Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for LCI Industries and Westport Fuel Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LCI Industries	1	4	1	0	2.00
Westport Fuel Systems	0	1	1	0	2.50

LCI Industries currently has a consensus price target of $103.25, indicating a potential upside of 1.38%. Westport Fuel Systems has a consensus price target of $6.9333, indicating a potential upside of 144.99%. Given Westport Fuel Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Westport Fuel Systems is more favorable than LCI Industries.

Summary

LCI Industries beats Westport Fuel Systems on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LCI Industries

LCI Industries, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and supplies engineered components for the manufacturers of recreational vehicles (RVs) and adjacent industries in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and Aftermarket. The OEM segment manufactures and distributes a range of engineered components, such as steel chassis and related components; axles, ABS, and suspension solutions; slide-out mechanisms and solutions; thermoformed bath, kitchen, and other products; vinyl, aluminum, and frameless windows; manual, electric, and hydraulic stabilizer and leveling systems; entry, luggage, patio, and ramp doors; furniture and mattresses; electric and manual entry steps; awnings and awning accessories; electronic components; appliances; air conditioners; televisions and sound systems; tankless water heaters; towing products; truck accessories; and other accessories. This segment serves OEMs of RVs and adjacent industries, including buses; trailers used to haul boats, livestock, equipment, and other cargo; trucks; boats; trains; manufactured homes; and modular housing. The Aftermarket segment supplies engineered components to aftermarket channels of the recreation and transportation markets for retail dealers, wholesale distributors, and service centers, as well as direct to retail customers through the Internet. This segment also sells replacement glass and awnings to fulfill insurance claims; and biminis, covers, buoys, fenders to the marine industry, towing products, truck accessories, appliances, air conditioners, televisions, sound systems, and tankless water heaters. The company was formerly known as Drew Industries Incorporated and changed its name to LCI Industries in December 2016. LCI Industries was founded in 1956 and is based in Elkhart, Indiana.

About Westport Fuel Systems

Westport Fuel Systems Inc. engages in the engineering, manufacturing, and supplying alternative fuel systems and components for use in transportation applications in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Original Equipment Manufacturers and Independent Aftermarket. It offers alternative fuel systems and components, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable natural gas or biomethane, and hydrogen; and pressure regulators, injectors, electronic control units, valves and filters, complete bi-fuel, mono-fuel and dual-fuel LPG and natural gas conversion kits and high-pressure hydrogen components. The company provides Westport’s LNG high pressure direct injection 2.0 fuel system and bi-fuel products; offers turnkey solutions covering all process phases, including prototyping, development, calibration, validation, homologation, vehicle conversion and logistic services, as well as systems for diesel-powered vehicles; and supplies hydrogen fuel system components for light, medium, and heavy-duty applications. It offers its products under the AFS, BRC, Emer, GFI, HPDI, Stako, Prins, Zavoli, OMVL, TA Gas Technology, Vialle, and Valtek brands. The company was formerly known as Westport Innovations Inc. and changed its name to Westport Fuel Systems Inc. in June 2016. Westport Fuel Systems Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.