Financial Survey: Knowles (NYSE:KN) and KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI)

Knowles (NYSE:KN) and KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Knowles and KVH Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Knowles	0	1	2	0	2.67
KVH Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

Knowles currently has a consensus target price of $21.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.66%. Given Knowles’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Knowles is more favorable than KVH Industries.

Profitability

This table compares Knowles and KVH Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Knowles	4.40%	8.22%	5.57%
KVH Industries	-5.83%	-3.41%	-3.04%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Knowles and KVH Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Knowles	$553.50 million	3.31	-$237.80 million	$0.29	73.64
KVH Industries	$113.83 million	1.05	-$11.05 million	($0.32)	-19.19

KVH Industries has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Knowles. KVH Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Knowles, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.4% of Knowles shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.7% of KVH Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Knowles shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.1% of KVH Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Knowles has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KVH Industries has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Knowles beats KVH Industries on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM). The PD segment designs and delivers film, electrolytic, and mica capacitor products for use in power supplies and medical implants; electromagnetic interference filters; and RF filtering solutions for use in satellite communications and radar systems for defense applications. The MSA segment designs and manufactures balanced armature speakers and microphones for the hearing health, audio, and True Wireless Stereo (TWS) markets. The CMM segment designs and manufactures micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones and audio solutions used in applications that serve the ear, mobile, TWS, Internet of Things, computing, and smartphones markets. The company serves the defense, medtech, electric vehicle, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics markets through original equipment manufacturers, their contract manufacturers, suppliers, sales representatives, and distributors. Knowles Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois.

About KVH Industries

KVH Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of mobile connectivity solutions for the marine and land mobile markets in the United States and internationally. The company offers Internet and VoIP airtime services; AgilePlans, a Connectivity as a Service solution; KVH Link, a crew wellbeing content subscription service with delivery by IP-Mobilecast; and OpenNet, a KVH VSAT data delivering service for non-KVH Ku-band VSAT terminals. It also provides TracNet, an integrated hybrid two-way communication terminal with VSAT, 5G/LTE, and shore-based Wi-Fi; TracPhone, a two-way VSAT-only satellite communications system; CommBox, ship-to-shore network management software for maritime communications; CommBox Edge, an advanced maritime network optimization and management solution; Starlink, a companion terminal for TracNet and TracPhone systems; KVH ONE, a global hybrid communication network supporting Internet, VoIP, content delivery, and other; and TracVision, a satellite television antenna system for vessels, recreational vehicles, buses, conversion vans, and automobiles. In addition, the company offers KVH Elite, a streaming service for leisure yachts; KVH OneCare, a services and support for TracNet and TracPhone systems; MOVIElink, a movie distribution solution; MUSIClink, a music and karaoke delivery solution; NEWSlink, a maritime news delivery solution; SPORTSlink, a sporting content delivery solution; TVlink, a television programming delivery solution; and news from home, a digital newspaper service. It sells its mobile communications products through a network of independent retailers, chain stores, distributors, and service providers, as well as to manufacturers of vessels, maritime equipment, and vehicles. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Middletown, Rhode Island.