Ford Motor (NYSE:F) vs. Bridgestone (OTCMKTS:BRDCY) Critical Contrast

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Bridgestone (OTCMKTS:BRDCY) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Ford Motor and Bridgestone’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ford Motor	-3.93%	17.23%	2.33%
Bridgestone	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Ford Motor has a beta of 1.83, meaning that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgestone has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ford Motor and Bridgestone”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ford Motor	$187.27 billion	0.31	-$8.18 billion	($1.87)	-7.82
Bridgestone	$29.63 billion	1.14	$2.19 billion	$0.64	19.80

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Ford Motor and Bridgestone, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ford Motor	1	10	8	0	2.37
Bridgestone	0	3	0	2	2.80

Ford Motor presently has a consensus target price of $15.68, indicating a potential upside of 7.22%. Given Ford Motor’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Ford Motor is more favorable than Bridgestone.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

58.7% of Ford Motor shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Ford Motor shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 57.1% of Bridgestone 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.

Dividends

Ford Motor pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Bridgestone pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ford Motor pays out -32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bridgestone pays out 17.2% 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. Ford Motor is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Ford Motor beats Bridgestone on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. It also engages in vehicle-related financing and leasing activities to and through automotive dealers. In addition, the company provides retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles; and direct financing leases for new vehicles to retail and commercial customers, such as leasing companies, government entities, daily rental companies, and fleet customers. Further, it offers wholesale loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; and loans to dealers to finance working capital and enhance dealership facilities, purchase dealership real estate, and other dealer vehicle programs. The company was incorporated in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

About Bridgestone

Bridgestone Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells tires and rubber products. The company offers tires and tire tubes for passenger cars, trucks, buses, construction and off-road mining vehicles, industrial and agricultural machinery, aircraft, motorcycles, scooters, and other vehicles; automotive parts; automotive maintenance and repair services; and raw materials for tires and other products. It also provides chemical products, such as belts, hoses, rubber crawlers/MT pads, resin piping systems, seismic isolation rubbers, bridge rubber bearings, and block type rubber covered chain type bridge fall prevention devices. In addition, the company offers golf balls, golf clubs, and other sporting goods; bicycles, bicycle-related goods, and others; and finance and other services. It has operations in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India, Africa, China, Asia, Oceania, Oceania, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.