Comparing Textron (NYSE:TXT) & Erickson (OTCMKTS:EACIQ)

Erickson (OTCMKTS:EACIQ) and Textron (NYSE:TXT) are both manufacturing companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Erickson and Textron’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Erickson	N/A	N/A	N/A
Textron	6.30%	16.02%	6.71%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.6% of Erickson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.0% of Textron shares are held by institutional investors. 55.0% of Erickson shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Textron shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Erickson and Textron, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Erickson	0	0	0	0	0.00
Textron	1	3	7	0	2.55

Textron has a consensus price target of $100.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.31%. Given Textron’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Textron is more favorable than Erickson.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Erickson and Textron”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Erickson	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Textron	$13.98 billion	1.00	$921.00 million	$4.55	16.61

Textron has higher revenue and earnings than Erickson.

Summary

Textron beats Erickson on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Erickson

Erickson Incorporated is a provider of aviation services to both commercial and governmental entities in approximately 20 countries. The Company’s operating segments include Commercial Aviation Services, Global Defense and Security, and Manufacturing and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO). The Company owns and operates a fleet of aircraft and provides a range of aerial services, including critical supply and logistics for deployed military forces, humanitarian relief, firefighting, timber harvesting, infrastructure construction and crewing. It also maintains a vertically integrated manufacturing capability for the Aircrane and related components, and MRO services for the Aircrane and other aircraft. The Company operates a fleet of light, medium and heavy rotor-wing and fixed-wing aircraft. The Company also leases its aviation services for missions, with customers paying for the aircraft, maintenance, crewing services and fuel to operate the aircraft.

About Textron

Textron Inc. operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts. The Bell segment supplies military and commercial helicopters, tiltrotor aircrafts, and related spare parts and services. The Textron Systems segment offers unmanned aircraft systems, electronic systems and solutions, advanced marine crafts, piston aircraft engines, live military air-to-air and air-to-ship training, weapons and related components, and armored and specialty vehicles. The Industrial segment offers blow-molded solutions, including conventional plastic fuel tanks and pressurized fuel tanks for hybrid vehicle applications, clear-vision systems, plastic tanks for catalytic reduction systems, and battery housing systems for use in electric vehicles primarily to automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); and golf cars, off-road utility vehicles, powersports products, light transportation vehicles, aviation ground support equipment, professional turf-maintenance equipment, and turf-care vehicles to golf courses and resorts, government agencies and municipalities, consumers, outdoor enthusiasts, and commercial and industrial users. The Textron eAviation segment manufactures and sells light aircraft and gliders with electric and combustion engines; and provides other research and development initiatives related to sustainable aviation solutions. The Finance segment offers financing services to purchase new and pre-owned aviation aircraft and Bell helicopters. Textron Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.