Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) versus Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) Financial Survey

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) and Powell Industries (NASDAQ:POWL) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.4% of Sensata Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of Powell Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Sensata Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Powell Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Sensata Technologies has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Powell Industries has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Sensata Technologies and Powell Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sensata Technologies	1	5	4	0	2.30
Powell Industries	0	3	2	2	2.86

Sensata Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $48.80, suggesting a potential upside of 19.81%. Powell Industries has a consensus target price of $187.92, suggesting a potential upside of 19.64%. Given Sensata Technologies’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Sensata Technologies is more favorable than Powell Industries.

Profitability

This table compares Sensata Technologies and Powell Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sensata Technologies	2.37%	18.68%	7.77%
Powell Industries	16.49%	27.51%	15.94%

Dividends

Sensata Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Powell Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Sensata Technologies pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Powell Industries pays out 6.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Powell Industries has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sensata Technologies and Powell Industries”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sensata Technologies	$3.70 billion	1.60	$31.30 million	$0.60	67.88
Powell Industries	$1.10 billion	5.18	$180.75 million	$5.21	30.15

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

Summary

Powell Industries beats Sensata Technologies on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sensata Technologies

Sensata Technologies Holding plc develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components and systems, and other products used in mission-critical systems and applications in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Sensing and Sensing Solutions. The Performance Sensing segment offers pressure, temperature, and position sensors, high-voltage solutions, and other solutions used in mission-critical systems and applications, such as tire pressure monitoring, thermal management, electrical protection, regenerative braking, powertrain for engine/transmission, and exhaust management for automobiles, on-road trucks, and off-road equipment customers. The Sensing Solutions segment provides application-specific sensor and electrical protection products, such as pressure, temperature, and position sensors; motor and compressor protectors; high-voltage contactors; solid state relays; bimetal electromechanical controls; power inverters; charge controllers; battery management systems; operator controls; and power conversion systems. It serves automotive, on-road truck, construction, and original equipment manufacturers in agriculture, control, appliance, medical, energy and charging infrastructure, data/telecom, and aerospace and defense industries, as well as systems integrators, aerospace, and motor and compressor distributors. Sensata Technologies Holding plc was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

About Powell Industries

Powell Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services custom-engineered equipment and systems. The company’s principal products include integrated power control room substations, custom-engineered modules, electrical houses, medium-voltage circuit breakers, monitoring and control communications systems, motor control centers, switches, and bus duct systems, as well as traditional and arc-resistant distribution switchgears and control gears. Its products have application in voltages ranging from 480 volts to 38,000 volts. The company also provide field service inspection, installation, commissioning, modification and repair, spare parts, retrofit and retrofill components for existing systems, and replacement circuit breakers for switchgear. It serves onshore and offshore production, liquefied natural gas facilities and terminals, pipelines, refineries, and petrochemical plants, as well as electric utility, light rail traction power, mining and metals, pulp and paper, data centers and other municipal, commercial, and industrial markets. The company has operations in the United States, Canada, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Mexico, and Central and South America. Powell Industries, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.