Westport Fuel Systems (NASDAQ: WPRT) and Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitabiliy, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.
Risk and Volatility
Westport Fuel Systems has a beta of 2.16, indicating that its share price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Briggs & Stratton Corporation has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Westport Fuel Systems and Briggs & Stratton Corporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Westport Fuel Systems | -32.70% | -81.28% | -25.48% |
| Briggs & Stratton Corporation | 2.33% | 11.69% | 3.79% |
Dividends
Briggs & Stratton Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Westport Fuel Systems does not pay a dividend. Briggs & Stratton Corporation pays out 58.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westport Fuel Systems has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Westport Fuel Systems and Briggs & Stratton Corporation’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Westport Fuel Systems | $260.91 million | 0.73 | -$62.75 million | ($0.80) | -2.16 |
| Briggs & Stratton Corporation | $1.81 billion | 0.55 | $134.42 million | $0.96 | 24.30 |
Briggs & Stratton Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Westport Fuel Systems. Westport Fuel Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Briggs & Stratton Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Westport Fuel Systems and Briggs & Stratton Corporation, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Westport Fuel Systems | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Briggs & Stratton Corporation | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Westport Fuel Systems currently has a consensus price target of $2.46, indicating a potential upside of 42.20%. Briggs & Stratton Corporation has a consensus price target of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 0.73%. Given Westport Fuel Systems’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Westport Fuel Systems is more favorable than Briggs & Stratton Corporation.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
9.3% of Westport Fuel Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.4% of Briggs & Stratton Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Briggs & Stratton Corporation shares are held by company 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.
Summary
Briggs & Stratton Corporation beats Westport Fuel Systems on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
Westport Fuel Systems Company Profile
Westport Fuel Systems Inc, formerly Westport Innovations Inc, is a Canada-based provider of low-emission engine and fuel system technologies utilizing gaseous fuels. It operates through the Westport Operations segment. The Westport Operations segment designs, manufactures and sells compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas components and systems to original equipment manufacturers and to aftermarket customers. Its subsidiaries design and manufacture a range of components, including pressure regulators, injectors, electronic control units, valves and filters; sell mono-fuel, bi-fuel and dual-fuel diesel blend conversion kits, and also offer full engine management systems and solutions. The Westport Operations segment has a customer base in Europe and North America, as well as in Asia, South America, and Africa.
Briggs & Stratton Corporation Company Profile
Briggs & Stratton Corporation is a producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. The Company designs, manufactures, markets, sells and services the various products for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) around the world. It also markets and sells related service parts and accessories for its engines. Its subsidiary is a marketer of pressure washers, and it is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of power generation, lawn and garden, turf care and job site products through its Simplicity, Snapper, Snapper Pro, Ferris, PowerBoss, Allmand, Billy Goat, Murray, Branco and Victa brands. It operates in over 100 countries on six continents. It operates through two segments: Engines and Products. Its Engines segment sells engines around the world, primarily to OEMs of lawn and garden equipment and other gasoline engine-powered equipment. Its Products segment designs, manufactures and markets a range of outdoor power equipment, job site products and related accessories.
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