Autoliv (ALV) Competitors

Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) and Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) are both mid-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and media sentiment.

Is GNTX or ALV more profitable?

Gentex has a net margin of 17.01% compared to Autoliv's net margin of 6.63%. Autoliv's return on equity of 30.47% beat Gentex's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gentex	17.01%	16.11%	14.28%
Autoliv	6.63%	30.47%	8.75%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in GNTX or ALV?

86.8% of Gentex shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.6% of Autoliv shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Gentex shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Autoliv shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, GNTX or ALV?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gentex	$2.31B	2.25	$404.49M	$1.71	13.51
Autoliv	$10.39B	0.88	$647M	$8.69	13.55

Which has more volatility and risk, GNTX or ALV?

Gentex has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autoliv has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is GNTX or ALV a better dividend stock?

Gentex pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Autoliv pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Gentex pays out 28.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Autoliv pays out 32.2% 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. Autoliv has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Autoliv is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor GNTX or ALV?

In the previous week, Autoliv had 16 more articles in the media than Gentex. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Autoliv and 10 mentions for Gentex. Gentex's average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat Autoliv's score of 0.55 indicating that Gentex is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Gentex	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Autoliv	7 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend GNTX or ALV?

Gentex currently has a consensus price target of $28.31, indicating a potential upside of 22.51%. Autoliv has a consensus price target of $117.06, indicating a potential downside of 0.58%. Given Gentex's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Gentex is more favorable than Autoliv.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gentex	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22
Autoliv	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.81

Summary

Autoliv beats Gentex on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.