Critical Survey: Ducommun (NYSE:DCO) versus National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK)

Ducommun (NYSE:DCO) and National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Ducommun and National Presto Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ducommun	2.95%	6.79%	3.86%
National Presto Industries	9.56%	9.59%	7.76%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.2% of Ducommun shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.6% of National Presto Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of Ducommun shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 28.0% of National Presto Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ducommun	$776.33 million	1.23	$15.93 million	$1.19	54.70
National Presto Industries	$343.27 million	1.54	$34.56 million	$4.53	16.43

National Presto Industries has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ducommun. National Presto Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ducommun, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Ducommun has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Presto Industries has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Ducommun and National Presto Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ducommun	0	0	4	0	3.00
National Presto Industries	0	0	0	0	N/A

Ducommun presently has a consensus target price of $71.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.08%. Given Ducommun’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Ducommun is more favorable than National Presto Industries.

Summary

National Presto Industries beats Ducommun on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ducommun

Ducommun Incorporated provides engineering and manufacturing services for products and applications used primarily in the aerospace and defense, industrial, medical, and other industries in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electronic Systems and Structural Systems. The Electronic Systems segment provides cable assemblies and interconnect systems; printed circuit board assemblies; electronic, electromechanical, and mechanical components and assemblies, as well as lightning diversion systems; and radar enclosures, aircraft avionics racks, shipboard communications and control enclosures, printed circuit board assemblies, cable assemblies, wire harnesses, interconnect systems, lightning diversion strips, surge suppressors, conformal shields, and other assemblies. The segment also supplies engineered products, including illuminated pushbutton switches and panels for aviation and test systems; microwave and millimeter switches and filters for radio frequency systems and test instrumentation; and motors and resolvers for motion control. In addition, this segment provides engineering expertise for aerospace system design, development, integration, and testing. The Structural Systems segment designs, engineers, and manufactures contoured aluminum, titanium, and Inconel aero structure components; structural assembly products, such as winglets, engine components, and fuselage structural panels; aerodynamic systems; and metal and composite bonded structures and assemblies comprising aircraft wing spoilers, large fuselage skins, rotor blades on rotary-wing aircraft and components, flight control surfaces, engine components, ammunition handling systems, and magnetic seals. It serves commercial aircraft, military fixed-wing aircraft, military and commercial rotary-wing aircraft, and space programs, as well as industrial, medical, and other end-use markets. The company was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.

About National Presto Industries

National Presto Industries, Inc. provides housewares and small appliance, defense, and safety products in North America. The company’s Housewares/Small Appliance segment designs, markets, and distributes housewares and small electrical appliances, including pressure cookers and canners; heat control line of skillets, griddles, woks, and multi-purpose cookers; slow cookers; deep fryers; air fryers; waffle makers; pizza ovens; slicer/shredders; electric heaters; hot air, oil, and microwave corn poppers; dehydrators; vacuum sealers; rice cookers; microwave bacon cookers; egg cookers; coffeemakers and coffeemaker accessories; electric knife sharpeners; and timers under the Presto Control Master brand. This segment sells its products directly to retailers, as well as through independent distributors. Its Defense segment manufactures and sells 40mm ammunition, precision mechanical and electro-mechanical products, medium caliber cartridge cases; and metal parts; and detonators, booster pellets, release cartridges, lead azide, and other military energetic devices and materials. This segment primarily serves the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and DOD prime contractors. The company’s Safety segment patents machine learning, digital sensors, and cloud-based technology to monitor freezers and refrigerators that detects and alerts users to potential safety issues around pharmaceuticals and food. National Presto Industries, Inc. was founded in 1905 and is based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.