Head-To-Head Review: Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) vs. Hexcel (NYSE:HXL)

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) and Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) are both aerospace companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Axon Enterprise and Hexcel”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Axon Enterprise	$2.78 billion	12.27	$124.66 million	$2.49	169.88
Hexcel	$1.89 billion	3.98	$109.40 million	$1.52	65.81

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

Profitability

This table compares Axon Enterprise and Hexcel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Axon Enterprise	6.90%	3.78%	1.76%
Hexcel	6.07%	11.08%	5.66%

Risk and Volatility

Axon Enterprise has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hexcel has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

79.1% of Axon Enterprise shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of Hexcel shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Axon Enterprise shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Hexcel shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Axon Enterprise and Hexcel, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Axon Enterprise	0	2	16	1	2.95
Hexcel	1	10	3	1	2.27

Axon Enterprise currently has a consensus target price of $712.75, indicating a potential upside of 68.49%. Hexcel has a consensus target price of $91.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.03%. Given Axon Enterprise’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Axon Enterprise is more favorable than Hexcel.

Summary

Axon Enterprise beats Hexcel on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Axon Enterprise

Axon Enterprise, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells conducted energy devices (CEDs) under the TASER brand in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software and Sensors, and TASER. The company also offers hardware and cloud-based software solutions that enable law enforcement to capture, securely store, manage, share, and analyze video and other digital evidence. Its products include axon officer safety plan; taser 10, taser7, taser X26P, taser X2, taser 7 CQ, and civilian series; cameras, such as axon body, axon flex, axon fleet, axon air, axon signal sidearm, axon signal vehicle, axon interview, and axon interview portable kit; software, including axon records, evidence, standards, commander, performance, auto-transcribe, justice, investigate, respond, and justice, my90, and redaction assistant; mobile applications, and training services, as well as hardware extended warranties; and Axon docks, cartridges, and batteries. The company sells its products through its direct sales, distribution partners, online store, and third-party resellers. Axon Enterprise, Inc. has a strategic partnership with Fusus, Inc. to expand bility to aggregate live video, data, and sensor feeds. It serves law enforcement, federal, correction, fire, EMS, campus, justice healthcare, retail, private security, and personal safety industries. The company was formerly known as TASER International, Inc. and changed its name to Axon Enterprise, Inc. in April 2017. Axon Enterprise, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

About Hexcel

Hexcel Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets carbon fibers, structural reinforcements, honeycomb structures, resins, and composite materials and parts for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products. The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets fabrics, multi-axials, specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, structural adhesives, molding compounds, tooling materials, polyurethane systems, and laminates that are used in military and commercial aircraft, wind turbine blades, recreational products, and other industrial applications, as well as in automotive, marine, and rail transportation. The Engineered Products segment manufactures and markets aircraft structures and finished aircraft components, including wing to body fairings, wing panels, flight deck panels, door liners, rotorcraft blades, spars, and tip caps; and aircraft structural sub-components and semi-finished components used in rotorcraft blades, engine nacelles, and aircraft surfaces, such as flaps, wings, elevators, and fairings; and RF interference control products for military and aerospace applications. This segment also provides interference control materials, structural composites, and services; dielectric absorber foams; magnetic absorbers; and thermoplastics for commercial and defense applications. The company sells its products directly through its managers, product managers, and sales personnel, as well as through independent distributors in the Americas, Europe, the Asia Pacific, India, and Africa. Hexcel Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.