Critical Review: WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD) versus LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII)

WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD) and LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WeRide and LCI Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WeRide	$97.89 million	14.15	-$230.20 million	($0.75)	-5.95
LCI Industries	$4.12 billion	0.58	$188.25 million	$8.60	11.37

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for WeRide and LCI Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WeRide	1	2	7	0	2.60
LCI Industries	0	7	2	0	2.22

WeRide presently has a consensus target price of $10.35, suggesting a potential upside of 132.06%. LCI Industries has a consensus target price of $113.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.07%. Given WeRide’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe WeRide is more favorable than LCI Industries.

Risk & Volatility

WeRide has a beta of 2.02, meaning that its stock price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LCI Industries has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.7% of LCI Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of WeRide shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of LCI Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares WeRide and LCI Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WeRide	-199.09%	-24.12%	-20.92%
LCI Industries	5.24%	14.33%	6.19%

Summary

LCI Industries beats WeRide on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WeRide

WeRide, Inc. engages in the development of an autonomous driving technology platform. It offers Robotaxi, Robobus, Robovan, Robosweeper, and advanced driving solutions, providing smart services in online ride-hailing, on-demand transport, urban logistics, and environmental sanitation. The company was founded by Tony Xu Han and Yan Li in February 2017 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, China.

About LCI Industries

LCI Industries, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and supplies engineered components for the manufacturers of recreational vehicles (RVs) and adjacent industries in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and Aftermarket. The OEM segment manufactures and distributes a range of engineered components, such as steel chassis and related components; axles, ABS, and suspension solutions; slide-out mechanisms and solutions; thermoformed bath, kitchen, and other products; vinyl, aluminum, and frameless windows; manual, electric, and hydraulic stabilizer and leveling systems; entry, luggage, patio, and ramp doors; furniture and mattresses; electric and manual entry steps; awnings and awning accessories; electronic components; appliances; air conditioners; televisions and sound systems; tankless water heaters; towing products; truck accessories; and other accessories. This segment serves OEMs of RVs and adjacent industries, including buses; trailers used to haul boats, livestock, equipment, and other cargo; trucks; boats; trains; manufactured homes; and modular housing. The Aftermarket segment supplies engineered components to aftermarket channels of the recreation and transportation markets for retail dealers, wholesale distributors, and service centers, as well as direct to retail customers through the Internet. This segment also sells replacement glass and awnings to fulfill insurance claims; and biminis, covers, buoys, fenders to the marine industry, towing products, truck accessories, appliances, air conditioners, televisions, sound systems, and tankless water heaters. The company was formerly known as Drew Industries Incorporated and changed its name to LCI Industries in December 2016. LCI Industries was founded in 1956 and is based in Elkhart, Indiana.