Financial Survey: KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI) versus Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spok	9.00%	8.50%	6.08%
KVH Industries	-4.31%	-0.80%	-0.70%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Spok and KVH Industries”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spok	$139.71 million	1.68	$15.88 million	$0.58	19.38
KVH Industries	$111.01 million	1.71	-$7.38 million	($0.26)	-37.38

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

50.8% of Spok shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.7% of KVH Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.3% of Spok shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.4% of KVH Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Spok has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KVH Industries has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Spok and KVH Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spok	0	2	0	0	2.00
KVH Industries	1	0	0	0	1.00

Spok presently has a consensus price target of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.56%. Given Spok’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Spok is more favorable than KVH Industries.

Summary

Spok beats KVH Industries on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spok

Spok Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Spok, Inc., provides healthcare communication solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. The company's products and services enhance workflows for clinicians and support administrative compliance. It delivers clinical information to care teams when and where it matters to enhance patient outcomes; and provides GenA Pager, a one-way alphanumeric pager. The company offers subscriptions to one-way or two-way messaging services, as well as alphanumeric pagers that are configurable to support unencrypted or encrypted operation; and ancillary services, such as voicemail, and equipment loss or maintenance protection services, as well as sells devices to resellers who lease or resell them to their subscribers. Its Spok Care Connect suite products for contact centers, clinical alerting and notification, mobile communications and messaging, and public safety notifications. In addition, the company provides professional, software license updates, and product support services, as well as sells third-party equipment. It serves businesses, professionals, management personnel, medical personnel, field sales personnel and service forces, members of the construction industry and construction trades, real estate brokers and developers, sales and services organizations, specialty trade organizations, manufacturing organizations, and government agencies. The company was formerly known as USA Mobility, Inc. and changed its name to Spok Holdings, Inc. in July 2014. Spok Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

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.