Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) vs. Nikola (OTCMKTS:NKLAQ) Critical Comparison

Nikola (OTCMKTS:NKLAQ) and Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

37.4% of Nikola shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.7% of Thor Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Nikola shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Thor Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nikola and Thor Industries”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nikola	$68.86 million	0.01	-$958.23 million	($17.49)	-0.00
Thor Industries	$9.82 billion	0.40	$258.56 million	$2.31	32.44

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

Profitability

This table compares Nikola and Thor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nikola	N/A	N/A	N/A
Thor Industries	2.67%	5.74%	3.51%

Volatility and Risk

Nikola has a beta of 2.1, suggesting that its stock price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thor Industries has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Nikola and Thor Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nikola	0	0	0	0	0.00
Thor Industries	1	10	3	0	2.14

Thor Industries has a consensus price target of $92.33, indicating a potential upside of 23.22%. Given Thor Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Thor Industries is more favorable than Nikola.

Summary

Thor Industries beats Nikola on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nikola

Nikola Corporation operates as a technology innovator and integrator that develops energy and transportation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates in truck and energy units. It commercializes battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) to the trucking sector. In addition, it develops a network of hydrogen fueling stations; and offers BEV charging solutions for its FCEV and BEV customers, as well as other third-party customers. Further, its products include Nikola Tre Class 8 truck and the Nikola's Class 8 FCEV. Additionally, the company assembles, integrates, and commissions its vehicles in collaboration with its business partners and suppliers. Nikola Corporation founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Thor Industries

THOR Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells recreational vehicles (RVs), and related parts and accessories in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers travel trailers; gasoline and diesel Class A, Class B, and Class C motorhomes; conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels; luxury fifth wheels; and motorcaravans, caravans, campervans, and urban vehicles. It also provides aluminum extrusion and specialized component products to RV and other manufacturers. The company provides its products through independent and non-franchise dealers. THOR Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Elkhart, Indiana.