Critical Comparison: Ultralife (NASDAQ:ULBI) versus Kyocera (OTCMKTS:KYOCY)

Kyocera (OTCMKTS:KYOCY) and Ultralife (NASDAQ:ULBI) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Kyocera has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ultralife has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Kyocera and Ultralife’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kyocera	1.30%	0.80%	0.58%
Ultralife	1.79%	2.68%	1.74%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Kyocera and Ultralife, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kyocera	0	0	0	1	4.00
Ultralife	0	0	1	0	3.00

Ultralife has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 96.63%. Given Ultralife’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ultralife is more favorable than Kyocera.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kyocera and Ultralife”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kyocera	$13.23 billion	1.46	$159.04 million	$0.13	105.38
Ultralife	$164.46 million	0.72	$6.31 million	$0.19	37.47

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.4% of Kyocera shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of Ultralife shares are held by institutional investors. 40.0% of Ultralife shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ultralife beats Kyocera on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kyocera

Kyocera Corporation develops, produces, and distributes products based on fine ceramic technologies in Japan, rest of Asia, Europe, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Core Components Business, Electronic Components Business, and Solutions Business segments. The Core Components Business segment offers components, such as fine ceramic components for semiconductor processing equipment, automotive camera modules, and ceramic packages, as well as organic packages and boards to protect electronic components and ICs to industrial machinery, automotive-related, and the information and communication-related markets; optical components, and jewelry and applied ceramic related products; and medical devices comprising prosthetic joints and dental implants. The Electronic Components Business segment provides various electronic components and devices, including capacitors, crystal devices, connectors, and power semiconductor devices for diverse fields comprising information and communications, industrial equipment, automotive-related, and consumer markets, as well as sensors and control components. The Solutions Business segment offers cutting tools, as well as pneumatic and power tools for automotive-related and general industrial, and construction markets; printers for offices; and communication terminals, such as mobile phones, as well as information systems and telecommunication services. This segment also provides MFPs, commercial inkjet printers, communication modules, displays, and printing devices, as well as information systems and telecommunication, smart energy-related products and services, and solution services, such as document management system. The company was formerly known as Kyoto Ceramic Kabushiki Kaisha and changed its name to Kyocera Corporation in 1982. Kyocera Corporation was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

About Ultralife

Ultralife Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, installs, and maintains power, and communication and electronics systems worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Battery & Energy Products and Communications Systems. The Battery & Energy Products segment offers lithium 9-volt, cylindrical, thin lithium manganese dioxide, rechargeable, and other non-rechargeable batteries; lithium-ion cells, multi-kilowatt module lithium-ion battery systems, and uninterruptable power supplies; and rugged military and commercial battery charging systems and accessories, including smart chargers, multi-bay charging systems, and various cables. The Communications Systems segment provides communications systems and accessories to support military communications systems, such as radio frequency amplifiers, power supplies and cables, connector assemblies, amplified speakers, equipment mounts, case equipment, man-portable systems, and integrated communication systems for fixed or vehicle applications comprising vehicle adapters, vehicle installed power enhanced rifleman appliqué systems, and SATCOM systems. This segment's military communications systems and accessories are designed to enhance and extend the operation of communications equipment, such as vehicle-mounted, manpack, and handheld transceivers. The company sells its products under the Ultralife, Ultralife HiRate, Ultralife Thin Cell, Ultralife Batteries, Lithium Power, McDowell Research, AMTITM, ABLETM, ACCUTRONICS, ACCUPRO, ENTELLION, SWE Southwest Electronic Energy Group, SWE SEASAFE, Excell Battery Group, and Criterion Gauge brands through original equipment manufacturers, and industrial and defense supply distributors. In addition, it sells its 9-volt battery to the broader consumer market through national and regional retail chains and online retailers. It serves government, defense, and commercial sectors. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Newark, New York.