Critical Survey: Westell Technologies (OTCMKTS:WSTL) vs. Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI)

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) and Westell Technologies (OTCMKTS:WSTL) are both technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Motorola Solutions and Westell Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Motorola Solutions	0	1	9	2	3.08
Westell Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00

Motorola Solutions currently has a consensus target price of $504.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.62%. Given Motorola Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Motorola Solutions is more favorable than Westell Technologies.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Motorola Solutions and Westell Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Motorola Solutions	$11.87 billion	6.11	$2.15 billion	$12.41	35.17
Westell Technologies	$29.96 million	3.70	-$10.10 million	($0.56)	-12.52

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

Profitability

This table compares Motorola Solutions and Westell Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Motorola Solutions	17.61%	100.13%	12.66%
Westell Technologies	-30.99%	-18.79%	-15.09%

Volatility & Risk

Motorola Solutions has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westell Technologies has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

84.2% of Motorola Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.9% of Westell Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Motorola Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.6% of Westell Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Motorola Solutions beats Westell Technologies on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc. provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce. Its land mobile radio communications, and video security and access control devices include two-way portable and vehicle-mounted radios, fixed video cameras, and accessories; communications network core and central processing software, base stations, consoles, and repeaters; and video analytics, network video management hardware and software, and access control solutions. The Software and Services segment provides public safety and enterprise command center, unified communications applications, mobile video equipment, and video software solutions; repair, technical support, and maintenance services; and monitoring, software updates, and cybersecurity services to government, public safety, and commercial communications networks. It serves hospitality; manufacturing; military and defence; public safety; mining; oil and gas; transportation and logistics; utilities industries. The company was formerly known as Motorola, Inc. and changed its name to Motorola Solutions, Inc. in January 2011. Motorola Solutions, Inc. was founded in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Westell Technologies

Westell Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Westell, Inc., designs and distributes telecommunications products to telephone companies in the United States. The company operates through three segments: In-Building Wireless (IBW), Intelligent Site Management (ISM), and Communications Network Solutions (CNS). The IBW segment offers distributed antenna system conditioners; digital repeaters; battery backup units; and system components and antennas, including couplers, duplexers, splitters, filters, and tappers for commercial and public safety in-building wireless systems. The ISM segment provides a suite of remote units, which provide machine-to-machine communications that enable operators to remotely monitor, manage, and control site infrastructure and support systems. The CNS segment provides a range of indoor and outdoor network infrastructure, such as integrated cabinets, power distribution products, copper and fiber connectivity products, and T1 network interface units. The company serves wireless and wireline service providers, multiple systems operators, Internet service providers, systems integrators, neutral host operators, and distributors through field sales organization, distributors, and partners. Westell Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois.