Comparing Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI) and GSE (OTCMKTS:GSEH)

GSE (OTCMKTS:GSEH) and Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI) are both manufacturing companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares GSE and Forward Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GSE	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Forward Industries	$44.84 million	8.01	-$166.97 million	($2.05)	-2.35

GSE has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Forward Industries.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for GSE and Forward Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GSE	0	0	0	0	0.00
Forward Industries	1	1	1	1	2.50

Forward Industries has a consensus target price of $7.45, suggesting a potential upside of 54.89%. Given Forward Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Forward Industries is more favorable than GSE.

Profitability

This table compares GSE and Forward Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GSE	N/A	N/A	N/A
Forward Industries	-2,305.12%	-21.42%	-20.82%

Summary

Forward Industries beats GSE on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GSE

GSE Holding, Inc. (GSE) is a provider of engineered geosynthetic containment solutions. GSE’s products are used in a range of infrastructure end markets, such as mining, waste management, liquid containment (including water infrastructure, agriculture and aquaculture), coal ash containment and shale oil and gas. The Company operates in two segments: North America, which represents the United States, Canada and Mexico, and International, which represents the rest of its global operations. The Company is a provider of products required to deliver customized solutions for projects on a global basis, including geomembranes, drainage products, geosynthetic clay liners, or GCLs, nonwoven geotextiles, and specialty products. In March 2012, the Company announced the purchase, by one of its subsidiaries, of certain manufacturing equipment from Poly-America, L.P. and Poly-Flex, Inc. In February 2013, the Company acquired SynTec, LLC.

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.