HEICO (HEI) Competitors

HEICO (NYSE:HEI) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Does the media favor HEI or LMT?

In the previous week, Lockheed Martin had 41 more articles in the media than HEICO. MarketBeat recorded 52 mentions for Lockheed Martin and 11 mentions for HEICO. HEICO's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat Lockheed Martin's score of 0.82 indicating that HEICO is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HEICO	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lockheed Martin	26 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, HEI or LMT?

HEICO has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lockheed Martin has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HEI or LMT a better dividend stock?

HEICO pays an annual dividend of $0.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Lockheed Martin pays an annual dividend of $13.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. HEICO pays out 6.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lockheed Martin pays out 47.8% 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. HEICO has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Lockheed Martin has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Lockheed Martin is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is HEI or LMT more profitable?

HEICO has a net margin of 12.64% compared to Lockheed Martin's net margin of 9.36%. Lockheed Martin's return on equity of 101.44% beat HEICO's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HEICO	12.64%	14.51%	6.70%
Lockheed Martin	9.36%	101.44%	12.50%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in HEI or LMT?

Lockheed Martin received 279 more outperform votes than HEICO when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 67.02% of users gave HEICO an outperform vote while only 59.14% of users gave Lockheed Martin an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
HEICO	Outperform Votes 504 67.02%	Underperform Votes 248 32.98%
Lockheed Martin	Outperform Votes 783 59.14%	Underperform Votes 541 40.86%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, HEI or LMT?

Lockheed Martin has higher revenue and earnings than HEICO. Lockheed Martin is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HEICO, 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
HEICO	$3.78B	9.53	$403.60M	$3.41	76.22
Lockheed Martin	$71.30B	1.63	$6.92B	$27.62	17.76

Do insiders and institutionals believe in HEI or LMT?

27.1% of HEICO shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.2% of Lockheed Martin shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.1% of HEICO shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Lockheed Martin shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend HEI or LMT?

HEICO presently has a consensus target price of $270.70, suggesting a potential upside of 4.15%. Lockheed Martin has a consensus target price of $612.29, suggesting a potential upside of 24.84%. Given Lockheed Martin's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lockheed Martin is more favorable than HEICO.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HEICO	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70
Lockheed Martin	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64

Summary

Lockheed Martin beats HEICO on 13 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.