Financial Analysis: Flughafen Wien (OTCMKTS:VIAAY) & United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL)

Flughafen Wien (OTCMKTS:VIAAY) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Flughafen Wien has a beta of -0.19, suggesting that its stock price is 119% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Airlines has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Flughafen Wien and United Airlines”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flughafen Wien	$1.28 billion	3.35	$209.26 million	$0.65	19.60
United Airlines	$59.07 billion	0.63	$3.35 billion	$11.20	10.25

United Airlines has higher revenue and earnings than Flughafen Wien. United Airlines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Flughafen Wien, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.7% of United Airlines shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of United Airlines shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Flughafen Wien and United Airlines, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flughafen Wien	0	0	0	0	0.00
United Airlines	1	1	15	1	2.89

United Airlines has a consensus price target of $132.71, indicating a potential upside of 15.60%. Given United Airlines’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe United Airlines is more favorable than Flughafen Wien.

Profitability

This table compares Flughafen Wien and United Airlines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flughafen Wien	16.30%	11.13%	7.77%
United Airlines	6.06%	24.33%	4.61%

Summary

United Airlines beats Flughafen Wien on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flughafen Wien

Flughafen Wien Aktiengesellschaft, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction and operation of civil airports and related facilities in Austria. The company operates through five segments: Airport, Handling & Security Services, Retail & Properties, Malta, and Other. It manages the Vienna airport. The company's Airport segment operates and maintains aircraft movement areas and terminals, as well as equipment and facilities for passenger and baggage handling, as well as security controls for passengers. This segment also offers various services to support airport operations, deals with emergencies and disruptions, and ensures security. Its Handling & Security services segment provides various services for the handling of aircraft and passengers on scheduled and charter flights, as well as for the handling of general aviation aircraft and passengers. This segment also operates the general aviation center; and provides security controls for passengers and hand luggage. The company's Retail & Properties segment offers services that support airport operations, including shopping, food and beverages, VIP, lounges, and parking, as well as develops and markets properties. This segment offers services to passengers, users of parking facilities, hotel guests, conference participants, employees at the site, and meeters and greeters. Its Malta segment operates Malta airport; and provides aviation and parking services, as well as rents retail and office space. The Other segment offers technical and repair, energy supply and waste disposal, telecommunication and information technology, electromechanical and building, construction management, and consulting services, as well as construction and maintenance services for infrastructure facilities. The company is headquartered in Schwechat, Austria.

About United Airlines

United Airlines Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional fleets. It also offers catering, ground handling, flight academy, and maintenance services for third parties. The company was formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to United Airlines Holdings, Inc. in June 2019. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.