Head to Head Contrast: Keyence (OTCMKTS:KYCCF) & Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD)

Blue Bird (NASDAQ:BLBD) and Keyence (OTCMKTS:KYCCF) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Blue Bird has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Keyence has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Blue Bird and Keyence”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blue Bird	$1.61 billion	1.12	$127.72 million	$8.22	7.02
Keyence	$7.31 billion	17.09	$2.78 billion	$3.60	143.06

Keyence has higher revenue and earnings than Blue Bird. Blue Bird is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Keyence, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Blue Bird and Keyence’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blue Bird	17.48%	39.97%	18.93%
Keyence	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Blue Bird shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Blue Bird shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Blue Bird and Keyence, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blue Bird	1	0	7	1	2.89
Keyence	0	0	2	2	3.50

Blue Bird presently has a consensus price target of $85.33, suggesting a potential upside of 47.81%. Given Blue Bird’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Blue Bird is more favorable than Keyence.

Summary

Blue Bird beats Keyence on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells school buses in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Bus and Parts. It offers Type C, Type D, and specialty buses; and alternative power options through its propane powered, gasoline powered, compressed natural gas powered, and electric powered school buses, as well as diesel engines. The company also sells replacement bus parts; and provides financing services and extended warranties related to its products. Blue Bird Corporation sells its products through drop ship and a network of dealers, as well as directly to fleet operators, the United States government, and state governments; independent service centers; and maintains a parts distribution center. Blue Bird Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Macon, Georgia.

About Keyence

Keyence Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of factory automation solutions in Japan, China, the United States, and internationally. The company offers photoelectric, fiber optic, laser, positioning, vision, specific solution, and inductive proximity sensors, as well as network communication units. It also provides measurement sensors, such as laser displacement and profiler, optical/laser micrometer, inductive displacement sensor, 3D interference measurement, spectral interference displacement, and contact displacement/LVDT sensors; and measurement systems, including optical comparators, 3D scanners, multisensor measurement, and CMM/laser trackers. In addition, the company provides safety products comprising safety laser scanners, light curtains, interlock switches, and controllers; and pressure, flow, level, and temperature sensors for monitoring equipment processes. Further, it offers static eliminators/ionizers and electrostatic sensors, which protect workers, machinery, and products from the damaging effects of electrostatic charge; vision systems and sensors; and programmable logic controllers, servo motor and system, and other controls that are used for machine control applications. Additionally, the company provides barcode and handheld scanners; laser marking systems/laser markers, UV laser coder, and industrial continuous inkjet printers; digital, 3D surface profilers, elemental analyzers, optical profilometers, and fluorescence microscopes; data loggers; and mobile/ handheld computers. It serves customers in automotive, semiconductors/LCDs, electronic devices, food/pharmaceutical, medical technology, logistics, metals, plastics, and films/sheets industries. Keyence Corporation was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.