Comparing Rail Vision (NASDAQ:RVSN) and Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Rail Vision (NASDAQ:RVSN) and Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

12.1% of Rail Vision shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.2% of Itron shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of Rail Vision shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Itron shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Rail Vision and Itron’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rail Vision	N/A	N/A	N/A
Itron	11.90%	19.26%	8.40%

Risk & Volatility

Rail Vision has a beta of -1.1, suggesting that its share price is 210% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Itron has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Rail Vision and Itron”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rail Vision	$1.49 million	4.71	-$11.10 million	($27.93)	-0.11
Itron	$2.37 billion	1.64	$301.05 million	$5.99	14.76

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Rail Vision and Itron, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rail Vision	1	1	0	0	1.50
Itron	1	4	8	0	2.54

Itron has a consensus price target of $131.33, indicating a potential upside of 48.57%. Given Itron’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Itron is more favorable than Rail Vision.

Summary

Itron beats Rail Vision on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rail Vision

Rail Vision Ltd. designs, develops, assembles, and sells railway detection systems for railway operational safety, efficiency, and predictive maintenance in Israel. The company's railway detection systems include various cameras, such as optics, visible light spectrum cameras (video), and thermal cameras that transmit data to a ruggedized on-board computer that is designed to be suitable for the rough environment of a train's locomotive. It offers main line systems for the safety of train operations, prevention of collisions, and reduction of downtime; railway detection system for passengers and freight trains; shunting yard systems for shunting operations; and light rail vehicle systems for detecting and classifying obstacles. The company also provides rail vision big data services, as well as maintenance and predictive maintenance systems; and geographic information systems for mapping and updates. Rail Vision Ltd. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Ra'anana, Israel.

About Itron

Itron, Inc., a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products. The Networked Solutions segment provides communicating devices, such as smart meters, modules, endpoints, and sensors; network infrastructure; and associated heat-end management and application software for acquiring and transporting application-specific data. This segment also offers industrial internet of things solutions. Including automated meter reading; advanced metering infrastructure for electricity, water, and gas; distributed energy resource management; smart grid and distribution automation; smart street lighting; and leak detection and applications for gas and water systems. The Outcomes segment provides value-added, enhanced software and services, artificial intelligence, and machine learning for managing, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data to enhance decision making, maximize operational profitability, resource efficiency, grid analytics, and deliver results for consumers, utilities, and smart cities. In addition, it offers implementation, project management, installation, consulting, and post-sale maintenance support services, as well as cloud and software-as-a-service; and extended or customer-specific warranties. The company offers its products and services under the Itron brand. It serves utility and smart city customers, and municipalities through its sales force, distributors, agents, partners, and meter manufacturer representatives. Itron, Inc. was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington.