Head-To-Head Comparison: ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) and Powerfleet (NASDAQ:AIOT)

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) and Powerfleet (NASDAQ:AIOT) are both industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares ESCO Technologies and Powerfleet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ESCO Technologies	9.95%	8.82%	5.81%
Powerfleet	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ESCO Technologies and Powerfleet”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ESCO Technologies	$1.00 billion	3.22	$92.54 million	$3.81	32.81
Powerfleet	$133.74 million	4.22	-$5.68 million	($0.31)	-16.97

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.7% of ESCO Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.4% of Powerfleet shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of ESCO Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Powerfleet shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for ESCO Technologies and Powerfleet, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ESCO Technologies	0	1	1	0	2.50
Powerfleet	0	0	1	0	3.00

ESCO Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $145.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.99%. Powerfleet has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 90.11%. Given Powerfleet’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Powerfleet is more favorable than ESCO Technologies.

Risk and Volatility

ESCO Technologies has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Powerfleet has a beta of 1.68, meaning that its share price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ESCO Technologies beats Powerfleet on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc. produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines. It also designs, develops, and manufactures elastomeric-based signature reduction solutions for U.S. naval vessels; and mission-critical bushings, pins, sleeves, and precision-tolerance machined components for landing gear, rotor heads, engine mounts, flight controls, and actuation systems for the aerospace and defense industries. The Utility Solutions Group segment provides diagnostic testing solutions that enable electric power grid operators to assess the integrity of high-voltage power delivery equipment; and decision support tools for the renewable energy industry, primarily wind and solar. The RF Test & Measurement segment designs and manufactures RF test and secure communication facilities, acoustic test enclosures, RF and magnetically shielded rooms, RF measurement systems, and broadcast and recording studios; and RF absorptive materials, filters, antennas, field probes, test cells, proprietary measurement software, and other test accessories to perform various tests. The company distributes its products through a network of distributors, sales representatives, direct sales teams, and in-house sales personnel. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.

About Powerfleet

PowerFleet, Inc. provides wireless Internet-of-Things asset management solutions in the United States, Israel, and internationally. The company offers real-time intelligence for organizations to capture IoT data from various types of assets with devices and sensors to increase efficiencies, and improve safety and security, as well as increase their profitability in easy-to-understand reports, dashboards, and real-time alerts; and application programming interfaces for additional integrations and development to boost other enterprise management systems and third-party applications. It also provides hosting, maintenance, and support and consulting services; and Software as a Service, including system monitoring, help desk technical support, escalation procedure development, routine diagnostic data analysis, and software updates services. The company offers its products under the PowerFleet, Pointer, and Cellocator brands. It sells its products to commercial and government sectors in manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, wholesale and retail, food and grocery distribution, pharmaceutical and medical distribution, construction, mining, utilities, heavy industry, aerospace and defense, homeland security, and vehicle rental, logistics, shipping, and freight transportation markets, as well as through indirect sales channels, such as original equipment manufacturers, vehicle importers, distributors, and industrial equipment dealers. The company was formerly known as I.D. Systems, Inc. PowerFleet, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.