Reviewing Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) and Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VWAGY)

Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VWAGY) and Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.7% of Thor Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Thor Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Volkswagen has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thor Industries has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Volkswagen and Thor Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Volkswagen	$364.13 billion	0.12	$8.29 billion	$1.22	6.95
Thor Industries	$9.82 billion	0.42	$258.56 million	$2.31	34.03

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

Dividends

Volkswagen pays an annual dividend of $0.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Thor Industries pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Volkswagen pays out 28.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Thor Industries pays out 90.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Thor Industries has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Volkswagen is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Volkswagen and Thor Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Volkswagen	1	1	2	1	2.60
Thor Industries	1	10	3	0	2.14

Thor Industries has a consensus target price of $92.33, suggesting a potential upside of 17.46%. Given Thor Industries’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Thor Industries is more favorable than Volkswagen.

Profitability

This table compares Volkswagen and Thor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Volkswagen	1.68%	2.74%	0.85%
Thor Industries	2.67%	5.74%	3.51%

Summary

Thor Industries beats Volkswagen on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Volkswagen

Volkswagen AG manufactures and sells automobiles in Germany, other European countries, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Passenger Cars and Light Commercial Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, Power Engineering, and Financial Services. The Passenger Cars and Light Commercial Vehicles segment engages in the development of vehicles, engines, and vehicle software; produces and sells passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and related parts; and offers motorcycles. The Commercial Vehicles segment develops, produces, and sells trucks and buses; and offers parts and related services. The Power Engineering segment offers large-bore diesel engines, turbomachinery, and propulsion components. The Financial Services segment provides dealership and customer financing, leasing, direct banking and insurance, fleet management, and mobility services. It sells its products under the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, koda, SEAT/CUPRA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Ducati, Porsche, Scania, MAN, Volkswagen Truck & Bus, Navistar commercial vehicles, and Bugatti brands. The company was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen AG operates as a subsidiary of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.

About Thor Industries

THOR Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells recreational vehicles (RVs), and related parts and accessories in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers travel trailers; gasoline and diesel Class A, Class B, and Class C motorhomes; conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels; luxury fifth wheels; and motorcaravans, caravans, campervans, and urban vehicles. It also provides aluminum extrusion and specialized component products to RV and other manufacturers. The company provides its products through independent and non-franchise dealers. THOR Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Elkhart, Indiana.