Comparing Butler National (OTCMKTS:BUKS) and General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)

Butler National (OTCMKTS:BUKS) and General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) are both aerospace companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Butler National has a beta of 0.19, indicating that its stock price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, General Dynamics has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Butler National and General Dynamics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Butler National	0	0	0	0	0.00
General Dynamics	1	5	13	2	2.76

General Dynamics has a consensus price target of $388.40, suggesting a potential upside of 6.47%. Given General Dynamics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe General Dynamics is more favorable than Butler National.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.0% of Butler National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of General Dynamics shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.6% of Butler National shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of General Dynamics shares are owned by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Butler National and General Dynamics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Butler National	21.45%	28.47%	15.08%
General Dynamics	8.07%	17.41%	7.52%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Butler National and General Dynamics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Butler National	$83.97 million	3.91	$12.55 million	$0.30	13.67
General Dynamics	$52.55 billion	1.88	$4.21 billion	$15.89	22.96

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

Summary

General Dynamics beats Butler National on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Butler National

Butler National Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, integrates, installs, repairs, modifies, overhauls, services, and distributes a portfolio of aerostructures, aircraft components, avionics, accessories, subassemblies, and systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Aerospace Products and Professional Services. The Aerospace Products segment provides aircraft modifications to business-size aircraft, which include passenger-to-freighter configuration, radar systems, addition of aerial photography capabilities, search and rescue, environmental research, mapping, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance modifications, and stability enhancing modifications for Learjet, Beechcraft, and Cessna aircraft along with other specialized modifications. This segment manufactures, sells, and services electronics for weapon control systems that are used on government aircraft and vehicles; and sells, installs, and repairs aircraft avionics equipment, including airplane radio equipment and flight control systems, as well as troubleshoots and repairs autopilot systems. Its Professional Services segment manages Boot Hill Casino and Resort, a gaming, dining, and entertainment facility in Dodge City, Kansas. The company acquires, refurbishes, and sells airplanes, primarily Learjets; owns properties; and operates a management consulting and administrative services firm that provides business planning and financial coordination to Indian tribes interested in owning and operating casinos. It serves the aviation industry, including owners and operators of private and commercial business and government aircraft and suppliers. Butler National Corporation was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in New Century, Kansas.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services. The Marine Systems segment designs and builds nuclear-powered submarines, surface combatants, and auxiliary ships for the United States Navy and Jones Act ships for commercial customers, as well as builds crude oil and product tankers, and container and cargo ships; provides maintenance, modernization, and lifecycle support services for navy ships; offers and program management, planning, engineering, and design support services for submarine construction programs. The Combat Systems segment manufactures land combat solutions, such as wheeled and tracked combat vehicles, Stryker wheeled combat vehicles, piranha vehicles, weapons systems, munitions, mobile bridge systems with payloads, tactical vehicles, main battle tanks, armored vehicles, and armaments; and offers modernization programs, engineering, support, and sustainment services. The Technologies segment provides information technology solutions and mission support services; mobile communication, computers, and command-and-control mission systems; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions to military, intelligence, and federal civilian customers; cloud computing, artificial intelligence; machine learning; big data analytics; development, security, and operations; and unmanned undersea vehicle manufacturing and assembly services. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.