Head to Head Survey: Belden (NYSE:BDC) versus Spirent Communications (OTCMKTS:SPMYY)

Spirent Communications (OTCMKTS:SPMYY) and Belden (NYSE:BDC) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Spirent Communications and Belden’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spirent Communications	N/A	N/A	N/A
Belden	8.52%	25.00%	9.24%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.8% of Belden shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Spirent Communications shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Belden shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Spirent Communications has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Belden has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Spirent Communications and Belden, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spirent Communications	0	0	0	0	0.00
Belden	0	1	4	2	3.14

Belden has a consensus price target of $156.25, suggesting a potential upside of 16.49%. Given Belden’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Belden is more favorable than Spirent Communications.

Dividends

Spirent Communications pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Belden pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Belden pays out 3.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Spirent Communications and Belden”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spirent Communications	$460.20 million	3.37	$12.90 million	N/A	N/A
Belden	$2.72 billion	1.93	$237.52 million	$6.15	21.81

Belden has higher revenue and earnings than Spirent Communications.

Summary

Belden beats Spirent Communications on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spirent Communications

Spirent Communications plc provides automated test and assurance solutions in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through Lifecycle Service Assurance, and Networks & Security segments. The Lifecycle Service Assurance segment offers lab-based testing solutions for 5G mobile core networks, and cellular and Wi-Fi devices, as well as live solutions. This segment also provides lab and test automation solutions for the telecom industry and enterprises. The Networks & Security segment develops test methodologies, tools, and services for virtualised networks, cloud, and artificial intelligence networking infrastructure, as well as application performance and proactive security validation. This segment also offers Ethernet/internet protocol performance testing solutions, as well as navigation satellite system test and simulation solutions while addressing opportunities in the broader positioning, navigation, and timing market, including low earth orbit satellites and autonomous vehicles. The company was formerly known as Spirent plc and changed its name to Spirent Communications plc in May 2006. Spirent Communications plc was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Crawley, the United Kingdom.

About Belden

Belden Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Solutions and Industrial Automation Solutions. The Enterprise Solutions segment offers copper cable and connectivity solutions, fiber cable and connectivity solutions, interconnect panels, racks and enclosures, and signal extension and matrix switching systems for use in applications, such as local area networks, data centers, access control, 5G, fiber to the home, and building automation. It also provides power, cooling, and airflow management products for mission-critical data center operations; and end-to-end fiber and copper network systems. This segment serves commercial real estate, education, financial, stadiums and venues, military installations, and broadband and wireless service providers, as well as data centers, governments, healthcare, and hospitality sectors. The Industrial Automation Solutions segment offers network infrastructure and digitization solutions; secure networks for the digitization and automation of industries and infrastructure; and products and solutions covering various aspects of data handling, including acquisition, transmission, orchestration, and management for applications in discrete automation, process automation, energy, and mass transit. It sells its products to distributors, end-users, installers, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company was formerly known as Belden CDT Inc. and changed its name to Belden Inc. in May 2007. Belden Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.