Electro-Sensors (NASDAQ:ELSE – Get Free Report) and Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI – Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Electro-Sensors and Badger Meter”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Electro-Sensors | $10.14 million | 1.56 | $310,000.00 | $0.09 | 49.71 |
| Badger Meter | $916.66 million | 3.68 | $141.63 million | $4.80 | 24.12 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
11.7% of Electro-Sensors shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.0% of Badger Meter shares are held by institutional investors. 13.3% of Electro-Sensors shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Badger Meter shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Electro-Sensors and Badger Meter’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Electro-Sensors | 3.02% | 2.10% | 1.98% |
| Badger Meter | 15.45% | 20.71% | 14.96% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Electro-Sensors and Badger Meter, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Electro-Sensors | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Badger Meter | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.36 |
Badger Meter has a consensus target price of $180.13, suggesting a potential upside of 55.60%. Given Badger Meter’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Badger Meter is more favorable than Electro-Sensors.
Risk & Volatility
Electro-Sensors has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Badger Meter has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Badger Meter beats Electro-Sensors on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Electro-Sensors
Electro-Sensors, Inc. engages in the manufacture and selling of industrial production monitoring and process control systems. Its products include shaft speed witches; wireless hazard monitoring; temperature sensor; slide gate and angle position; bearing sensors and belt alignment; and motor drive control. The company was founded by James P. Slattery in 1965 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, MN.
About Badger Meter
Badger Meter, Inc. manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives. In addition, the company offers ORION Cellular endpoints to power network as a service; ORION mobile read endpoints support for deploying AMR solution; radio products; hardware, instruments, and sensors, and related software, to enhance connected data to a water utility's operation; water quality monitoring solutions, including optical sensing and electrochemical instruments; and high frequency pressure and leak detection sensors to aid in burst pipe and leak events; as well as BEACON, a secure cloud-hosted software suite that establishes alerts for specific conditions and allows consumer engagement tools that permit end water customers to view and manage their water usage activity. Its flow instrumentation products are used in water/wastewater, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, and corporate sustainability markets. The company serves water utilities, commercial, and industrial industries; and provides training, project management, technical support, and other collaborative services for customers. It sells its products and software directly, as well as through resellers and representatives. The company was incorporated in 1905 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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