CAE (NYSE:CAE) vs. FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ:FTAI) Critical Contrast

CAE (NYSE:CAE) and FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ:FTAI) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Dividends

CAE pays an annual dividend of $0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. FTAI Aviation pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. CAE pays out 50.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FTAI Aviation pays out 43.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.4% of CAE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.0% of FTAI Aviation shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.3% of CAE shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of FTAI Aviation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CAE and FTAI Aviation”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CAE	$4.99 billion	1.55	$226.62 million	$0.65	37.14
FTAI Aviation	$2.51 billion	6.97	$501.06 million	$4.60	36.97

FTAI Aviation has lower revenue, but higher earnings than CAE. FTAI Aviation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CAE, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for CAE and FTAI Aviation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CAE	1	4	5	0	2.40
FTAI Aviation	0	2	9	0	2.82

CAE currently has a consensus target price of $31.00, suggesting a potential upside of 28.42%. FTAI Aviation has a consensus target price of $315.67, suggesting a potential upside of 85.63%. Given FTAI Aviation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe FTAI Aviation is more favorable than CAE.

Risk and Volatility

CAE has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FTAI Aviation has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CAE and FTAI Aviation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CAE	6.36%	7.45%	3.51%
FTAI Aviation	15.94%	139.59%	11.26%

Summary

FTAI Aviation beats CAE on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CAE

CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides simulation training and critical operations support solutions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, the Oceania, Africa, and Rest of the Americas. It operates through two segments, Civil Aviation; and Defense and Security. The Civil Aviation segment offers training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; a range of flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as aircraft flight operations solutions. The Defense and Security segment operates as a training and simulation provider that delivers platform-independent solutions to enable and enhance force readiness and security for defense forces, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), government agencies, and public safety organizations. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in 1993. CAE Inc. was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

About FTAI Aviation

FTAI Aviation Ltd. owns and acquires aviation and offshore energy equipment for the transportation of goods and people worldwide. It operates through two segments, Aviation Leasing and Aerospace Products. The Aviation Leasing segment owns and manages aviation assets, including aircraft and aircraft engines, which it leases and sells to customers. As of December 31, 2023, this segment owned and managed 363 aviation assets consisting of 96 commercial aircraft and 267 engines, including eight aircraft and seventeen engines that were located in Russia. The Aerospace Products segment develops, manufactures, repairs, and sells aircraft engines and aftermarket components for aircraft engines. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New York, New York.