Financial Comparison: Kawasaki Heavy Industries (OTCMKTS:KWHIY) versus MonotaRO (OTCMKTS:MONOY)

MonotaRO (OTCMKTS:MONOY) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (OTCMKTS:KWHIY) are both mid-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares MonotaRO and Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MonotaRO	8.70%	27.44%	18.96%
Kawasaki Heavy Industries	1.60%	4.81%	1.12%

Dividends

MonotaRO pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Kawasaki Heavy Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. MonotaRO pays out 22.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kawasaki Heavy Industries pays out 24.4% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MonotaRO and Kawasaki Heavy Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MonotaRO	$1.81 billion	4.12	$154.87 million	$0.31	48.08
Kawasaki Heavy Industries	$12.81 billion	0.50	$175.11 million	$0.41	37.51

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

Risk and Volatility

MonotaRO has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kawasaki Heavy Industries has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for MonotaRO and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MonotaRO	0	0	0	0	N/A
Kawasaki Heavy Industries	0	0	0	1	4.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of MonotaRO shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

MonotaRO beats Kawasaki Heavy Industries on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MonotaRO

MonotaRO Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates an online MRO products store in Japan and internationally. The company offers safety protective equipment, work clothes, and safety shoes; logistics, storage, and packing supplies; tapes; safety, disaster prevention, and crime prevention products; safety signs; ship and fishing supplies; office supplies; office furniture/lighting/cleaning supplies; cutting tools and abrasives; measurement and surveying equipment; hand tools/electric and pneumatic tools; sprays, oils, greases, and paints; adhesives and repair materials; welding supplies; and piping and water related components/pumps/pneumatic and hydraulic equipment/hoses. It also provides mechanical parts; control equipment; soldering and anti-static products; architectural hardware, building materials, painting, and interior supplies; air conditioning and electrical equipment; electrical materials; screws, bolts, nails, and materials; automotive supplies; truck supplies; motorcycle supplies; bicycle supplies; scientific research and development supplies; clean room supplies; kitchen equipment and store supplies; agricultural and gardening supplies; and medical and nursing supplies. It serves factories, construction, automobile maintenance, and other industries. The company was formerly known as Sumisho Grainger Co., Ltd. and changed its name to MonotaRO Co., Ltd. in February 2006. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. MonotaRO Co., Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Grainger Global Holdings, Inc.

About Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. engages in aerospace systems, energy solution and marine engineering, precision machinery and robot, rolling stock, and motorcycle and engine businesses in Japan and internationally. It manufactures aircraft for the Japan ministry of defense; helicopters; and helicopter and jet engines for commercial aircrafts. The company also manufactures railway cars; a range of rolling stocks, including Shinkansen, electric cars, passenger coaches, freight cars, locomotives, diesel locomotives, and transit systems. In addition, it engages in the production and sale of energy-related machinery and systems, marine machinery and systems, industrial equipment, and environmental equipment. Further, the company manufactures and supplies motorcycles, off-road four wheelers, watercrafts, general-purpose gasoline engines, etc. Additionally, it manufactures and sells pumps, motors, valves, and various hydraulic machinery, as well as assembles hydraulic systems; and industrial robots for use in welding, assembly, handling, painting, and palletization for various industries, including automotive and electronics industries. The company was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.