Financial Comparison: Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) and International Consolidated Airlines Group (OTCMKTS:ICAGY)

International Consolidated Airlines Group (OTCMKTS:ICAGY) and Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares International Consolidated Airlines Group and Bristow Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Consolidated Airlines Group	10.38%	100.80%	15.73%
Bristow Group	7.51%	11.10%	4.95%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for International Consolidated Airlines Group and Bristow Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Consolidated Airlines Group	1	1	3	0	2.40
Bristow Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

Bristow Group has a consensus price target of $60.00, indicating a potential upside of 33.02%. Given Bristow Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Bristow Group is more favorable than International Consolidated Airlines Group.

Dividends

International Consolidated Airlines Group pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Bristow Group pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. International Consolidated Airlines Group pays out 4.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bristow Group pays out 13.0% 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. International Consolidated Airlines Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares International Consolidated Airlines Group and Bristow Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Consolidated Airlines Group	$37.57 billion	0.69	$3.78 billion	$4.26	2.74
Bristow Group	$1.49 billion	0.90	$129.07 million	$3.84	11.75

International Consolidated Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than Bristow Group. International Consolidated Airlines Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bristow Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

International Consolidated Airlines Group has a beta of 1.61, indicating that its stock price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bristow Group has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of International Consolidated Airlines Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.3% of Bristow Group shares are held by institutional investors. 13.4% of Bristow Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

International Consolidated Airlines Group beats Bristow Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Consolidated Airlines Group

International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of passenger and cargo transportation services in the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States, and rest of the world. It also provides aircraft leasing, aircraft maintenance, tour operation, air freight operations, call centre, ground handling, trustee, retail, IT, finance, procurement, storage and custody, aircraft technical assistance, human resources support, and airport infrastructure development services; and manages airline loyalty programmes. The company operates under the British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL brands. It operates a fleet of 582 aircrafts. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Harmondsworth, United Kingdom.

About Bristow Group

Bristow Group Inc. provides vertical flight solutions. The company primarily offers aviation services to integrated, national, and independent offshore energy companies and government agencies. It also provides personnel transportation, search and rescue, medevac, ad hoc helicopter, fixed wing transportation, unmanned systems, and ad-hoc helicopter services, as well as logistical and maintenance support, training services, and flight and maintenance crews. The company has a fleet of aircrafts. It has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dutch Caribbean, the Falkland Islands, India, Ireland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the United Kingdom, and United States. Bristow Group Inc. is based in Houston, Texas.