Electro-Sensors (NASDAQ:ELSE – Get Free Report) and Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS – Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Electro-Sensors and Watts Water Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Electro-Sensors | 3.02% | 2.10% | 1.98% |
| Watts Water Technologies | 14.32% | 18.92% | 13.48% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
11.7% of Electro-Sensors shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Watts Water Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.3% of Electro-Sensors shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Watts Water Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Electro-Sensors and Watts Water Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Electro-Sensors | $10.14 million | 2.66 | $310,000.00 | $0.09 | 85.00 |
| Watts Water Technologies | $2.44 billion | 4.06 | $340.80 million | $10.93 | 27.17 |
Watts Water Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Electro-Sensors. Watts Water Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Electro-Sensors, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Electro-Sensors and Watts Water Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Electro-Sensors | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Watts Water Technologies | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2.33 |
Watts Water Technologies has a consensus target price of $330.11, indicating a potential upside of 11.16%. Given Watts Water Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Watts Water Technologies is more favorable than Electro-Sensors.
Summary
Watts Water Technologies beats Electro-Sensors on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Electro-Sensors
Electro-Sensors, Inc. engages in the manufacture and selling of industrial production monitoring and process control systems. Its products include shaft speed witches; wireless hazard monitoring; temperature sensor; slide gate and angle position; bearing sensors and belt alignment; and motor drive control. The company was founded by James P. Slattery in 1965 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, MN.
About Watts Water Technologies
Watts Water Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers residential and commercial flow control and protection products, including backflow preventers, water pressure regulators, temperature and pressure relief valves, thermostatic mixing valves, leak detection and protection products, commercial washroom solutions, and emergency safety products and equipment for plumbing and hot water applications. It also provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and gas products comprising commercial boilers; water heaters and heating solutions; hydronic and electric heating systems for under-floor radiant applications; custom heat and hot water solutions; hydronic pump groups for boiler manufacturers and alternative energy control packages; and flexible stainless-steel connectors for natural and liquid propane gas in commercial food service and residential applications. In addition, the company offers drainage and water re-use products, such as drainage products, engineered rainwater harvesting solutions for commercial, industrial, marine, and residential applications; connected roof drain systems; and water quality products that include point-of-use and point-of-entry water filtration, conditioning, and scale prevention systems for commercial, marine, and residential applications. The company sells its products to plumbing, heating, and mechanical wholesale distributors and dealers; original equipment manufacturers; specialty product distributors; and do-it-yourself and retail chains, as well as wholesalers and private label accounts. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Receive News & Ratings for Electro-Sensors Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Electro-Sensors and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
