Head-To-Head Survey: Makita (OTCMKTS:MKTAY) & Husqvarna AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:HSQVY)

Husqvarna AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:HSQVY) and Makita (OTCMKTS:MKTAY) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Husqvarna AB (publ) and Makita, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Husqvarna AB (publ)	0	0	0	0	N/A
Makita	0	0	1	0	3.00

Dividends

Husqvarna AB (publ) pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Makita pays an annual dividend of $0.39 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Husqvarna AB (publ) pays out 9.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Makita pays out 35.8% 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. Husqvarna AB (publ) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Husqvarna AB (publ) and Makita”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Husqvarna AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$5.10	2.60
Makita	$5.14 billion	1.58	$301.47 million	$1.09	27.64

Makita has higher revenue and earnings than Husqvarna AB (publ). Husqvarna AB (publ) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Makita, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Husqvarna AB (publ) and Makita’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Husqvarna AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Makita	5.89%	4.98%	4.11%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Husqvarna AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Makita shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Makita beats Husqvarna AB (publ) on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Husqvarna AB (publ)

Husqvarna AB (publ) produces and sells outdoor power products, watering products, and lawn care power equipment. It operates through three divisions: Husqvarna Forest & Garden; Gardena; and Husqvarna Construction. The Husqvarna Forest & Garden division offers handheld products, such as chainsaws, brush cutters, trimmers, and leaf blowers; wheeled products, such as front riders and zero-turn mowers; robotic lawn mowers; and accessories and spare parts. The Gardena division provides residential and smart watering; robotic mowers; garden hand tools; electric powered gardening tools; and smart garden systems. The Husqvarna Construction division offers power cutters, light compaction and concrete placement equipment, dust and slurry solutions, diamond tools for construction and stone industries, surface preparation equipment, floor saws, and demolition robots. The company sells its products and solutions to forestry, tree care, landscaping, commercial lawn, and garden services sectors, as well as home and garden owners, and light construction and stone industries primarily under the Husqvarna, Gardena, Orbit, Flymo, RedMax, Zenoah, and McCulloch brands through dealers and retailers. It operates in Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, rest of Europe, the Asia/Pacific, Canada, the United States, Latin America, and internationally. Husqvarna AB (publ) was founded in 1689 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

About Makita

Makita Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of electric power tools, pneumatic tools, and gardening and household equipment in Japan, Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates. It offers cordless, drilling/fastening, impact drilling/demolition, grinding/sanding, sawing, planning/routering, pneumatic, outdoor power, and dust extraction/other equipment, as well as accessories; and cutting equipment for new materials, masonry, and metals. The company was formerly known as Makita Electric Works, Ltd. and changed its name to Makita Corporation in April 1991. Makita Corporation was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Anjo, Japan.