StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE – Get Free Report) and Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for StoneCo and Forward Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| StoneCo | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Forward Industries | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
StoneCo currently has a consensus price target of $14.30, indicating a potential upside of 41.58%. Forward Industries has a consensus price target of $12.50, indicating a potential upside of 90.84%. Given Forward Industries’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Forward Industries is more favorable than StoneCo.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| StoneCo | $2.53 billion | 0.99 | $425.73 million | $2.48 | 4.07 |
| Forward Industries | $53.12 million | 9.11 | -$166.97 million | $0.12 | 54.58 |
StoneCo has higher revenue and earnings than Forward Industries. StoneCo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Forward Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
73.2% of StoneCo shares are held by institutional investors. 11.3% of StoneCo shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.9% of Forward Industries shares are held 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.
Risk and Volatility
StoneCo has a beta of 1.75, suggesting that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Forward Industries has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares StoneCo and Forward Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| StoneCo | 22.92% | 22.19% | 4.10% |
| Forward Industries | -2,073.82% | -18.05% | -17.03% |
Summary
StoneCo beats Forward Industries on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About StoneCo
StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team. The company served small-and-medium-sized businesses; and marketplaces, e-commerce platforms, and integrated software vendors. StoneCo Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in George Town, the Cayman Islands.
About Forward Industries
Forward Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, markets, and distributes carry and protective solutions primarily for handheld electronic devices. The company operates in three segments: OEM Distribution, Retail Distribution, and Design. The OEM Distribution segment sources and distributes carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits; and various portable electronic and non-electronic products, such as sporting and recreational products, bar code scanners, GPS devices, tablets, and firearms. The Retail Distribution segment sources and sells smart-enabled furniture and a range of other products through agreements with various retailers, including in stores and online retailer websites. The Design segment provides hardware and software product design and engineering services. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Forward Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Hauppauge, New York.
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