Critical Review: Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK) & Orion Energy Systems (NASDAQ:OESX)

Orion Energy Systems (NASDAQ:OESX) and Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Orion Energy Systems and Blink Charging’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orion Energy Systems	0.04%	11.66%	3.40%
Blink Charging	-52.24%	-57.97%	-25.95%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Orion Energy Systems and Blink Charging”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orion Energy Systems	$86.31 million	1.44	-$3.16 million	($0.05)	-608.80
Blink Charging	$96.24 million	0.84	-$83.39 million	($0.40)	-1.40

Orion Energy Systems has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Blink Charging. Orion Energy Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blink Charging, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Orion Energy Systems has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blink Charging has a beta of 2.07, suggesting that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.6% of Orion Energy Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of Blink Charging shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Orion Energy Systems shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Blink Charging shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Orion Energy Systems and Blink Charging, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orion Energy Systems	1	1	2	0	2.25
Blink Charging	1	1	1	0	2.00

Orion Energy Systems currently has a consensus target price of $36.50, indicating a potential upside of 19.91%. Blink Charging has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 345.87%. Given Blink Charging’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Blink Charging is more favorable than Orion Energy Systems.

Summary

Orion Energy Systems beats Blink Charging on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orion Energy Systems

Orion Energy Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, researches, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, installs, and implements energy management systems for commercial office and retail, area lighting, industrial applications, and government in North America and Germany. It operates in three segments: Lighting, Maintenance, and Electric Vehicle (EV). The company offers light emitting diode (LED) lighting products; construction and engineering services for commercial lighting and energy management system; lighting and electrical system maintenance, repair, and replacement services; and EV charging station and installation solutions. It also provides LED high bay fixtures and LED troffer retrofits; smart lighting controls, a wireless Internet of Things enabled control solution that provides lighting control options and data intelligence capabilities for building managers; and various LED fixtures for lighting and energy management needs comprising fixtures for agribusinesses, parking lots, roadways, retail, mezzanine, outdoor applications, and private label resale. In addition, the company offers lighting-related energy management services, such as site assessment, site field verification, utility incentive and government subsidy management, engineering design, project management, facility design commissioning, and recycling. It serves customers directly and through independent sales agencies and distributors, national account end-users, federal and state government facilities, regional account end-users, electrical distributors, electrical contractors, and energy service companies. Orion Energy Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

About Blink Charging

Blink Charging Co., through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, manufactures, and provides electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and networked EV charging services in the United States and internationally. The company offers residential and commercial EV charging equipment that enable EV drivers to recharge at various location types. It also provides Blink Network, a cloud-based system that operates, maintains, and manages various Blink charging stations and associated charging data, back-end operations, and payment processing, as well as offers fleets, property owners, managers, parking companies, and state and municipal entities with cloud-based services that enable the remote monitoring and management of EV charging stations; and EV drivers with station information, including station location, availability, and applicable fees. In addition, the company offers EV charging hardware, software services, and service plans. It has strategic partnerships across transit/destination locations, including airports, auto dealers, healthcare/medicals, hotels, mixed-use and municipal locations, multifamily residential and condos, parks and recreation areas, parking lots, religious institutions, restaurants, retailers, schools and universities, stadiums, supermarkets, transportation hubs, and workplace locations. Blink Charging Co. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Bowie, Maryland.