Financial Survey: AEye (NASDAQ:LIDR) & Dorman Products (NASDAQ:DORM)

Dorman Products (NASDAQ:DORM) and AEye (NASDAQ:LIDR) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Dorman Products and AEye, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dorman Products	0	0	3	0	3.00
AEye	0	1	0	0	2.00

Dorman Products presently has a consensus target price of $125.67, indicating a potential downside of 4.06%. Given Dorman Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Dorman Products is more favorable than AEye.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.7% of Dorman Products shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.6% of AEye shares are held by institutional investors. 10.0% of Dorman Products shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of AEye shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dorman Products and AEye”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dorman Products	$1.93 billion	2.07	$129.26 million	$5.98	21.90
AEye	$1.46 million	5.52	-$87.13 million	($8.22)	-0.11

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

Profitability

This table compares Dorman Products and AEye’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dorman Products	9.43%	16.95%	8.84%
AEye	-24,308.44%	-158.98%	-80.99%

Risk and Volatility

Dorman Products has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AEye has a beta of 2.84, meaning that its share price is 184% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Dorman Products beats AEye on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dorman Products

Dorman Products, Inc. supplies replacement and upgrade parts for passenger cars, light trucks, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, utility terrain vehicles, and all-terrain vehicles in the motor vehicle aftermarket industry in the United States and internationally. It offers engine products, including intake and exhaust manifolds, fans, thermostat housings, and throttle bodies; undercar products comprising fluid lines, fluid reservoirs, connectors, 4-wheel drive components and axles, drain plugs, other engine, and transmission and axle components; steering and suspension products consist of control arms, ball joints, tie-rod ends, brake hardware and hydraulics, wheel and axle hardware, suspension arms, knuckles, links, bushings, and leaf springs, as well as other suspension, steering, and brake components; body products, such as door handles and hinges, window lift motors, window regulators, switches and handles, wiper components, lighting, electrical, and other interior and exterior vehicle body components, including windshields for UTVs; electronics products comprise new and remanufactured modules, clusters and sensors; and hardware products, such as threaded bolts and auto body fasteners, automotive and home electrical wiring components, and other hardware assortments and merchandise. The company also provides air tanks, shock absorbers, and air springs; transmission control modules, variable geometry timing actuators, and other control modules and sensors; new control arms, suspension components, door lock actuators, and handles for electric vehicles; and leaf springs, intake manifolds, exhaust manifolds, window regulators, radiator fan assemblies, tire pressure monitor sensors, exhaust gas recirculation coolers, UTV windshields, and complex electronics modules. It markets its products under the DORMAN, DORMAN OE FIX, HELP!, Conduct-Tite, Dayton Parts, SuperATV, Keller Performance Products, Assault Industries, Gboost, and GDP brands. Dorman Products, Inc. was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Colmar, Pennsylvania.

About AEye

AEye, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides lidar systems for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver-assistance systems, and robotic vision applications in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It offers 4Sight intelligent sensing lidar platform, including 4Sight at Design, Triggered 4Sight, Responsive 4Sight, and Predictive 4Sight; and 4Sight for automotive and industrial market. The company was formerly known as CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III and changed its name to AEye, Inc. in August 2021. AEye, Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Dublin, California.