Financial Contrast: Optex Systems (NASDAQ:OPXS) and FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ:FTAI)

FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ:FTAI) and Optex Systems (NASDAQ:OPXS) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares FTAI Aviation and Optex Systems”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FTAI Aviation	$2.51 billion	7.21	$501.06 million	$4.60	38.26
Optex Systems	$39.80 million	1.82	$5.15 million	$0.55	18.91

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for FTAI Aviation and Optex Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FTAI Aviation	0	2	9	0	2.82
Optex Systems	0	1	0	1	3.00

FTAI Aviation currently has a consensus target price of $320.11, indicating a potential upside of 81.88%. Given FTAI Aviation’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe FTAI Aviation is more favorable than Optex Systems.

Profitability

This table compares FTAI Aviation and Optex Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FTAI Aviation	15.94%	139.59%	11.26%
Optex Systems	9.77%	17.57%	14.65%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.0% of FTAI Aviation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.1% of Optex Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of FTAI Aviation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.7% of Optex Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

FTAI Aviation has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Optex Systems has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

FTAI Aviation pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Optex Systems pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. FTAI Aviation pays out 43.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Optex Systems pays out 14.5% 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.

Summary

FTAI Aviation beats Optex Systems on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FTAI Aviation

FTAI Aviation Ltd. owns and acquires aviation and offshore energy equipment for the transportation of goods and people worldwide. It operates through two segments, Aviation Leasing and Aerospace Products. The Aviation Leasing segment owns and manages aviation assets, including aircraft and aircraft engines, which it leases and sells to customers. As of December 31, 2023, this segment owned and managed 363 aviation assets consisting of 96 commercial aircraft and 267 engines, including eight aircraft and seventeen engines that were located in Russia. The Aerospace Products segment develops, manufactures, repairs, and sells aircraft engines and aftermarket components for aircraft engines. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Optex Systems

Optex Systems Holdings, Inc manufactures and sells optical sighting systems and assemblies primarily for the U.S. department of defense, foreign military applications, and commercial markets in the United States. It offers periscopes, such as laser and non-laser protected plastic and glass periscopes, electronic M17 day/thermal periscopes, and vision blocks; sighting systems, including back up sights, digital day and night sighting systems, M36 thermal periscope, unity mirrors, optical weapon system support and maintenance, commander weapon station sights, and sight assembly refurbishments; howitzers comprising M137 telescope, M187 mount, M119 aiming device, XM10 and aiming circles; and applied optics center consisting of laser interference filter, optical assemblies, laser filter units, day windows, and specialty thin film coatings, as well as other products, such as muzzle reference systems, binoculars, collimators, optical lenses and elements, and windows. The company also provides various periscope configurations, rifle and surveillance sights, and night vision optical assemblies. Its products are installed on various types of U.S. military land vehicles, such as the Abrams, Bradley, and Stryker families of fighting vehicles, as well as light armored and armored security vehicles. The company offers its products directly to the federal government, prime contractors, and foreign governments. Optex Systems Holdings, Inc was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Richardson, Texas. Optex Systems Holdings, Inc is a subsidiary of Sileas Corporation.