Hey there,
The autoparts industry is a very difficult one to invest in, especially when dealing with small caps like XTC, LNR. It is why we prefer MG, which was on our Bull List for some time. The only reason why it was removed was because of the macro environment which included ship shortages, supply chain issues, labour shortages and the Russia/Ukraine war - all of which disrupted results. Long term, we still feel that MG is best positioned to outperform the industry given its status as the largest global autoparts company. As a result, it is far more diversified than say XTC and LNR.
That said, MG is definitely the 'most expensive' of the three - likely due to the factors above it will likely always command a premium. Between XTC and LInamar, it appears that Linamar is the one that provides the best value at todays prices. It is trading at a notable discount on a PE, PS, PB, EV/EBITDA and EV/Revenue basis as compared to XTC. It has also outperformed XTC in a material way over the past 3 and 5 year periods. The only thing XTC really has over LNR at this point is that it has a long-standing dividend growth streak (16 yrs) whereas LNR has no dividend growth to speak of. XTC also has a much higher yield, so it is a better 'dividend' stock.
Since both have comparable expected growth rates, LNR looks poised to continue outperforming XTC in the near future. All that said, if I was to choose one of the three, it would be Magna for me. Simply because I view it to be best-in-class despite recent underperformance.
Mat
(Long XTC, but have been looking to dispose of my position)