Contrasting Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) & Alabama Aircraft Industries (OTCMKTS:AAIIQ)

Alabama Aircraft Industries (OTCMKTS:AAIIQ) and Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Alabama Aircraft Industries and Hexcel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alabama Aircraft Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hexcel	5.78%	9.54%	5.08%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Hexcel shares are held by institutional investors. 38.0% of Alabama Aircraft Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Hexcel shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alabama Aircraft Industries and Hexcel”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alabama Aircraft Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hexcel	$1.89 billion	3.17	$109.40 million	$1.38	57.42

Hexcel has higher revenue and earnings than Alabama Aircraft Industries.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Alabama Aircraft Industries and Hexcel, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alabama Aircraft Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hexcel	1	10	3	1	2.27

Hexcel has a consensus price target of $87.27, indicating a potential upside of 10.14%. Given Hexcel’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hexcel is more favorable than Alabama Aircraft Industries.

Summary

Hexcel beats Alabama Aircraft Industries on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alabama Aircraft Industries

Alabama Aircraft Industries, Inc provides aircraft maintenance and modification services to the United States government, foreign governments, and military customers. Its services include maintenance and modification of military transport, tanker, and petrol aircraft airframes; and aircraft maintenance and modification services, such as complete airframe maintenance and repair, and custom air frame design and modification. The company’s services also comprise scheduled and unscheduled maintenance; interior refurbishment and reconfiguration; lavatory, galley, airstair, and auxiliary fuel tank installations; aging aircraft inspection; structural and accident damage repair; manufacturing and parts fabrication; composite repair; service bulletin and AD compliance; component repair and overhaul; EPA approved stripping and painting; CPCP; non-destructive testing; avionics upgrades and installation; and FAA repair station RJ1R454K. Its principal services performed under military contracts are programmed depot maintenance, aircraft modifications, aircraft stripping and painting, rewiring, parts fabrication, engineering support services, system integration of component upgrades, and modification of fixed wing aircrafts. In addition, the company offers airframe corrosion prevention and control, rewiring, and component overhauls, as well as structural, avionics, and other systems modification services. It provides its services directly as a prime contractor or indirectly as a sub- contractor. The company was formerly known as Pemco Aviation Group, Inc. and changed its name to Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc. in September 2007. Alabama Aircraft Industries, Inc was founded in 1983 and is based in Birmingham, Alabama. On Nov 3, 2011, the voluntary petition of Alabama Aircraft Industries, Inc., along with its affiliates, for reorganization under Ch 11 was converted to Ch 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb 15, 2011.

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.