Comparing Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) and ICTS International (OTCMKTS:ICTSF)

ICTS International (OTCMKTS:ICTSF) and Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares ICTS International and Ituran Location and Control’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICTS International	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ituran Location and Control	16.23%	27.68%	16.11%

Risk & Volatility

ICTS International has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ituran Location and Control has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ICTS International and Ituran Location and Control”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICTS International	$483.31 million	0.32	-$4.23 million	N/A	N/A
Ituran Location and Control	$336.26 million	N/A	$53.65 million	$2.84	16.70

Ituran Location and Control has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ICTS International.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.8% of Ituran Location and Control shares are held by institutional investors. 62.4% of ICTS International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Ituran Location and Control shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for ICTS International and Ituran Location and Control, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICTS International	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ituran Location and Control	0	0	2	0	3.00

Ituran Location and Control has a consensus target price of $50.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.40%. Given Ituran Location and Control’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ituran Location and Control is more favorable than ICTS International.

Summary

Ituran Location and Control beats ICTS International on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ICTS International

ICTS International N.V. provides airport security and other aviation services, and authentication technology services in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, Spain, and internationally. It offers aviation security services, including security screening, behavior detection on crowds and queues, perimeter guarding/ patrolling, CCTV surveillance and/or alarm resolution, and vehicle marshalling. It also provides above wing security services, such as security interviewing, behavior detection, and escort of valuables and weapons; and handling services. In addition, it offers below wing services, comprising ramp and door guarding, interior and exterior searches, catering and bag room guarding, and selectee search; cargo security services, which include cargo screening, explosives detection dogs, access control, and vehicle marshalling services; private charter flight and cargo security screening, catering and aircraft Security Screening, aircraft search, and employee screening services; general security services, which comprise security search and screening, access control, perimeter guarding/patrolling, security host and reception, and CCTV surveillance and/or alarm resolution services; and training/consulting/auditing services. Further, it offers aviation security technology, including New Advanced Passenger Screening, an IT-system that enables pre-departure analysis of passenger information, and X-Check and I-Check that supports airline staff, security or filtering agents with customer processing; SaaS for identity verification and fraud prevention from physical and digital ID documents; and non-security services, such as agent services, guard services, queue monitors, aircraft cleaning, janitorial, skycap passengers luggage, wheelchair attendant, baggage handling, cruise line baggage transfer, VIP meet and greet services, equipment for passengers, and shuttle services to airline crews. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Schiphol, the Netherlands.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides location based telematics services and machine-to-machine telematics products. It operates through two segments, Telematics Services and Telematics Products. The Telematics services segment offers stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, which enables to locate, track, and recover stolen vehicles for its subscribers; fleet management services that enable corporate and individual customers to track and manage their vehicles in real time; and locator services that allow customers to protect valuable merchandise and equipment. This segment also delivers on-demand navigation guidance, information, and assistance, including the provision of traffic reports and directions, as well as information on the location of gas stations, car repair shops, post offices, hospitals, and other facilities; and Connected Car, a service platform that includes a back-office application, a telematics device installed in the vehicle, mobile apps for IOS and Android users, and interface using the car infotainment screen, as well as usage based insurance and auto financing services. This segment serves insurance companies and agents, car manufacturers, dealers and importers, cooperative sales channels, and private subscribers. The Telematics Products segment offers Base Site, a radio receiver that includes a processor and a data computation unit to collect and send data to and from transponders, and to control centers; Control Center, a center consisting of software used to collect data from various base sites, conduct location calculations, and transmit location data to various customers and law enforcement agencies; navigation and tracking devices installed in vehicles; and SMART, a portable transmitter installed in vehicles that sends a signal to the base site enabling the location of vehicles, equipment, or an individual. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Azor, Israel.