Contrasting Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) & Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ:RJET)

Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ:RJET) and Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

13.3% of Mesa Air Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.3% of Bristow Group shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Mesa Air Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.4% of Bristow Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mesa Air Group and Bristow Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mesa Air Group	$1.68 billion	0.48	$76.20 million	$0.94	18.31
Bristow Group	$1.49 billion	0.88	$129.07 million	$3.84	11.49

Bristow Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mesa Air Group. Bristow Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mesa Air Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Mesa Air Group and Bristow Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mesa Air Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
Bristow Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

Bristow Group has a consensus price target of $60.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.94%. Given Bristow Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bristow Group is more favorable than Mesa Air Group.

Profitability

This table compares Mesa Air Group and Bristow Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mesa Air Group	3.29%	6.13%	2.41%
Bristow Group	7.51%	11.10%	4.95%

Risk & Volatility

Mesa Air Group has a beta of 1.61, meaning that its stock price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bristow Group has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bristow Group beats Mesa Air Group on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mesa Air Group

Mesa Air Group, Inc. operates as the holding company for Mesa Airlines, Inc. that provides regional air carrier scheduled passenger services. The company offers scheduled flight and cargo services. As of September 30, 2023, it operated a fleet of 80 aircraft with approximately 296 daily departures to 86 cities in the United States and Mexico. Mesa Air Group, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Bristow Group

Bristow Group Inc. provides vertical flight solutions. The company primarily offers aviation services to integrated, national, and independent offshore energy companies and government agencies. It also provides personnel transportation, search and rescue, medevac, ad hoc helicopter, fixed wing transportation, unmanned systems, and ad-hoc helicopter services, as well as logistical and maintenance support, training services, and flight and maintenance crews. The company has a fleet of aircrafts. It has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dutch Caribbean, the Falkland Islands, India, Ireland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the United Kingdom, and United States. Bristow Group Inc. is based in Houston, Texas.