Murata Manufacturing (OTCMKTS:MRAAY – Get Free Report) and Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Murata Manufacturing and Plug Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Murata Manufacturing | 12.51% | 8.51% | 7.28% |
| Plug Power | -292.84% | -90.22% | -50.27% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Murata Manufacturing and Plug Power”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Murata Manufacturing | $11.45 billion | 3.24 | $1.54 billion | $0.43 | 23.19 |
| Plug Power | $676.17 million | 4.25 | -$2.10 billion | ($2.37) | -1.05 |
Murata Manufacturing has higher revenue and earnings than Plug Power. Plug Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Murata Manufacturing, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Murata Manufacturing and Plug Power, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Murata Manufacturing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Plug Power | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.00 |
Plug Power has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 0.57%. Given Plug Power’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Plug Power is more favorable than Murata Manufacturing.
Risk and Volatility
Murata Manufacturing has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Plug Power has a beta of 2.28, meaning that its share price is 128% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
0.8% of Murata Manufacturing shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.5% of Plug Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Plug Power shares are owned by 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.
Summary
Plug Power beats Murata Manufacturing on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Murata Manufacturing
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. designs, manufactures, and sells ceramic-based passive electronic components and solutions in Japan and internationally. The company offers capacitors, inductors, noise suppression products/EMI suppression filters/ESD protection devices, resistors, thermistors, sensors, timing devices, quartz devices, sound components, power products, batteries, micro mechatronics, RFID product, baluns, couplers, filters, phase shifters, RF switches, front-end modules, SAW components, connectors, antennas, connectivity modules, wireless connectivity platforms, ionizers/active oxygen modules, and transformers. It also offers Femtet, a CAE software that solves various engineering challenges; and provides silver oxide battery. In addition, the company provides connectivity, Wifi sensing, IOT, AI, and RFID solutions. Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. offers its products for use in communications equipment, mobility, enterprise system, industrial, healthcare, medical, personal electronics applications, and other sectors. The company was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Nagaokakyo, Japan.
About Plug Power
Plug Power Inc. develops hydrogen and fuel cell product solutions in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers GenDrive, a hydrogen-fueled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system that provides power to material handling electric vehicles; GenSure, a stationary fuel cell solution that offers modular PEM fuel cell power to support the backup and grid-support power requirements of the telecommunications, transportation, and utility sectors; ProGen, a fuel cell stack and engine technology used in mobility and stationary fuel cell systems, and as engines in electric delivery vans; GenFuel, a liquid hydrogen fueling delivery, generation, storage, and dispensing system; GenCare, an ongoing Internet of Things-based maintenance and on-site service program for GenDrive fuel cell systems, GenSure fuel cell systems, GenFuel hydrogen storage and dispensing products, and ProGen fuel cell engines; and GenKey, an integrated turn-key solution for transitioning to fuel cell power. It also provides electrolyzers, a hydrogen generator for clean hydrogen production; liquefaction systems that provides liquid hydrogen to customers; cryogenic equipment for the distribution of liquified hydrogen, oxygen, argon, nitrogen and other cryogenic gases, including trailers and mobile storage equipment; and liquid hydrogen, an alternative fuel to fossil-based energy. The company sells its products through a direct product sales force, original equipment manufacturers, and dealer networks. Plug Power Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Latham, New York.
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