Financial Contrast: NaaS Technology (NASDAQ:NAAS) and Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG)

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) and NaaS Technology (NASDAQ:NAAS) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Asbury Automotive Group and NaaS Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Asbury Automotive Group	2.83%	12.72%	4.31%
NaaS Technology	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.8% of NaaS Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Asbury Automotive Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.0% of NaaS Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Asbury Automotive Group has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NaaS Technology has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Asbury Automotive Group and NaaS Technology”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Asbury Automotive Group	$18.00 billion	0.17	$492.00 million	$26.74	6.48
NaaS Technology	$17.89 million	3.83	-$62.77 million	($87.84)	-0.03

Asbury Automotive Group has higher revenue and earnings than NaaS Technology. NaaS Technology is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Asbury Automotive Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Asbury Automotive Group and NaaS Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Asbury Automotive Group	2	5	2	0	2.00
NaaS Technology	1	0	0	0	1.00

Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus target price of $214.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.48%. Given Asbury Automotive Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Asbury Automotive Group is more favorable than NaaS Technology.

Summary

Asbury Automotive Group beats NaaS Technology on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services. The company also provides finance and insurance products, including arranging vehicle financing through third parties; and aftermarket products, such as extended service contracts, guaranteed asset protection debt cancellation, prepaid maintenance, and disability and accident insurance. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Duluth, Georgia.

About NaaS Technology

NaaS Technology Inc. provides electric vehicle (EV) charging services in China. The company offers integrated online EV charging solutions to charging stations, including mobility connectivity services through Kuaidian; SaaS products, such as traffic support and management, marketing, payment, chargers’ management, order management, load management, and membership management. It also provides offline EV charging solutions comprising site selection, hardware procurement, engineering, procurement, and construction, station maintenance, energy storage, and customer support services. In addition, the company offers electricity procurement services to charging stations, as well as other amenities and ancillary services, such as vending machines, massage chairs, and car wash tunnels. It serves charger manufacturers, EV OEMS, and end-users. NaaS Technology Inc. is headquartered in Beijing, China.