Critical Review: Moog (MOG.A) & Its Peers

Moog (NYSE:MOG.A) is one of 229 publicly-traded companies in the “Aerospace & Defense” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Moog to similar businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Moog has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Moog’s competitors have a beta of 1.31, indicating that their average share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Moog and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Moog	8.73%	17.67%	7.94%
Moog Competitors	-286.74%	-46.93%	-4.23%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Moog and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Moog	$3.86 billion	$235.03 million	29.73
Moog Competitors	$8.43 billion	$569.54 million	24.74

Moog’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Moog. Moog is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Moog pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Moog pays out 10.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Aerospace & Defense” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.1% and pay out 39.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.0% of Moog shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.5% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Moog shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by company 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Moog and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Moog	0	1	4	0	2.80
Moog Competitors	2150	8223	12707	577	2.50

Moog presently has a consensus target price of $446.25, suggesting a potential upside of 27.62%. As a group, “Aerospace & Defense” companies have a potential upside of 25.02%. Given Moog’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Moog is more favorable than its competitors.

Summary

Moog beats its competitors on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Moog Company Profile

Moog Inc. designs, manufactures, and integrates precision motion and fluid controls and controls systems for original equipment manufacturers and end users in the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets worldwide. The company's Aircrafts Controls segment offers primary and secondary flight controls for military and commercial aircrafts; aftermarket support services; and ground-based navigation aids. Its Space and Defense Controls segment provides controls for satellites, space vehicles, launch vehicles, armored combat vehicles, tactical and strategic missiles, security and surveillance, and other defense applications; and gun aiming, stabilization, and automatic ammunition loading for armored combat vehicles. This segment also offers controls for steering tactical and strategic missiles, and naval surface ships and submarines; and weapons stores management systems for light attack aerial reconnaissance, ground, and sea platforms, as well as slip rings, fiber optic rotary joints, and motors. The company's Industrial Systems segment provides components and systems for applications in injection and blow molding machinery, metal forming presses, and heavy industry customers in steel and aluminum production; supplies electromechanical motion simulation bases for the flight simulation and training applications; and supplies solutions for power generation applications, as well as custom test systems and controls for automotive, structural, and fatigue testing. This segment also offers systems and components for applications in oil and gas exploration and production; components for wind turbine applications; components and systems for diagnostic imaging CT scan medical equipment, sleep apnea equipment, oxygen concentrators, infusion therapy, and enteral clinical nutrition; and hydraulics, slip rings, rotary unions and fiber optic rotary joints, motors, and infusion and enteral pumps. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in East Aurora, New York.