Contrasting HTC (OTCMKTS:HTCXF) & Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC)

HTC (OTCMKTS:HTCXF) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares HTC and Ericsson”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HTC	$95.93 million	N/A	-$106.43 million	($0.12)	-10.19
Ericsson	$23.45 billion	1.19	$1.89 million	$0.05	166.60

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

8.0% of Ericsson shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares HTC and Ericsson’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HTC	46.08%	6.40%	3.06%
Ericsson	0.67%	16.45%	5.07%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for HTC and Ericsson, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HTC	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ericsson	0	2	0	0	2.00

Ericsson has a consensus price target of $9.80, indicating a potential upside of 17.65%. Given Ericsson’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ericsson is more favorable than HTC.

Summary

Ericsson beats HTC on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HTC

HTC Corporation designs and manufactures mobile devices. Its portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by the Android or Windows Phone operating systems. It offers its products under the brand named HTC, including HTC Wildfire, HTC Desire, HTC Flyer, HTC ChaCha, HTC Salsa, HTC Incredible S, HTC Sensation, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC Aria and HTC 7 Trophy, among others. HTC Corporation is headquartered in Taoyuan County, Taiwan.

About Ericsson

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile connectivity solutions for telcom operators and enterprise customers in various sectors in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, and India. It operates in four segments: Networks; Cloud Software and Services; Enterprise; and Other. The Networks segment offers radio access network (RAN) solutions for various network spectrum bands, including purpose-built and open RAN-prepared hardware and software. This segment also provides cloud RAN; transport solutions; passive and active antennas; and a range of service portfolios covering network deployment and support. The Cloud Software and Services segment offers core networks, business and operational support systems, network design and optimization, and managed network services. The Enterprise segment offers a global communications platform, including cloud-based unified communications as a service, contact center as a service, and communications platform as a service; enterprise wireless solutions comprising private wireless networks and wireless wan pre-packaged solutions; and technologies and new business solutions, such as mobile financial services, security solutions, and advertising services. The Other segment includes Redbee media that prepares and distributes live and video services for broadcasters, sports leagues, and communications service providers. It offers its services through wholesalers and distributors. The company was formerly known as Allmanna Telefon AB LM Ericsson and changed its name to Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) in January 1926. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.