Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) versus Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) Financial Contrast

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) and Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Universal Display and Littelfuse’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal Display	34.65%	14.10%	12.53%
Littelfuse	-3.00%	10.53%	6.65%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Universal Display and Littelfuse, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal Display	0	4	2	0	2.33
Littelfuse	0	1	2	2	3.20

Universal Display presently has a consensus target price of $163.25, indicating a potential upside of 35.04%. Littelfuse has a consensus target price of $364.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.52%. Given Universal Display’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Universal Display is more favorable than Littelfuse.

Risk & Volatility

Universal Display has a beta of 1.63, meaning that its share price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Littelfuse has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Universal Display pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Littelfuse pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Universal Display pays out 38.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Littelfuse pays out -103.4% 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. Universal Display has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Littelfuse has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.2% of Universal Display shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Littelfuse shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Universal Display shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Littelfuse shares are held by 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 and Valuation

This table compares Universal Display and Littelfuse”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Universal Display	$647.68 million	8.87	$222.08 million	$4.64	26.05
Littelfuse	$2.39 billion	3.63	-$71.70 million	($2.90)	-120.09

Universal Display has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Littelfuse. Littelfuse is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Universal Display, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Universal Display beats Littelfuse on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Universal Display

Universal Display Corporation engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand. It is also involved in the research, development, and commercialization of other OLED device and manufacturing technologies, including FOLED that are flexible OLEDs for the fabrication of OLEDs on flexible substrates; and OVJP, an organic vapor jet printing technology. In addition, the company provides technology development and support services, including third-party collaboration and support to third parties for the commercialization of their OLED products; and contract research services in the areas of chemical synthesis research, development, and commercialization for non-OLED applications, as well as engages in the intellectual property and technology licensing activities. Universal Display Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey.

About Littelfuse

Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells electronic components, modules, and subassemblies in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. The company operates through Electronic, Transportation, and Industrial segments. The Electronics segment offers fuses and fuse accessories, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, electromechanical switches and interconnect solutions, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, varistors, reed switch based magnetic sensing products, and gas discharge tubes; and discrete transient voltage suppressor (TVS) diodes, TVS diode arrays, protection and switching thyristors, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors and diodes, and insulated gate bipolar transistors. This segment serves industrial motor drives and power conversion, automotive electronics, electric vehicle and related charging infrastructure, aerospace, power supplies, data centers, telecommunications, medical devices, alternative energy, building and home automation, appliances, and mobile electronics markets. The Transportation segment provides blade, resettable, and high-current and high-voltage fuses, as well as battery cable protectors; fuses, switches, relays, circuit breakers, and power distribution modules; and sensor products. This segment serves heavy-duty truck, construction, agriculture, material handling, and marine. The Industrial segment offers industrial fuses, protection relays, contactors, transformers, residual current devices, ground fault circuit interrupters, residual current monitors, arc fault detection devices, and temperature sensors for use in renewable energy and energy storage systems, electric vehicle infrastructure, HVAC systems, industrial safety, non-residential construction, MRO, mining, and factory automation. It sells its products through distributors, direct sales force, and manufacturers' representatives. Littelfuse, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.