Contrasting Applied Aerospace & Defense (NYSE:AADX) and Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS)

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) and Applied Aerospace & Defense (NYSE:AADX) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Carpenter Technology and Applied Aerospace & Defense’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carpenter Technology	16.96%	26.46%	15.02%
Applied Aerospace & Defense	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.0% of Carpenter Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Carpenter Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Carpenter Technology and Applied Aerospace & Defense, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carpenter Technology	0	2	8	0	2.80
Applied Aerospace & Defense	1	2	5	2	2.80

Carpenter Technology currently has a consensus target price of $504.38, suggesting a potential upside of 33.77%. Applied Aerospace & Defense has a consensus target price of $23.44, suggesting a potential upside of 106.38%. Given Applied Aerospace & Defense’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Aerospace & Defense is more favorable than Carpenter Technology.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Carpenter Technology and Applied Aerospace & Defense”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carpenter Technology	$3.12 billion	5.98	$529.80 million	$10.52	35.84
Applied Aerospace & Defense	$498.76 million	3.93	-$17.02 million	($0.25)	-45.44

Carpenter Technology has higher revenue and earnings than Applied Aerospace & Defense. Applied Aerospace & Defense is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carpenter Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Carpenter Technology beats Applied Aerospace & Defense on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts. It serves to aerospace, defense, medical, transportation, energy, industrial, and consumer markets. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

About Applied Aerospace & Defense

Applied Aerospace and Defense Inc. specializes in providing advanced design, engineering and vertically integrated manufacturing solutions for next-generation space and defense technology companies. Its core service offerings include design and analysis, fabrication and assembly and inspection, qualification and testing. Applied Aerospace and Defense Inc. is based in HUNTSVILLE, United States.