Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU) & Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR) Head-To-Head Review

Profitability

This table compares Spruce Power and Research Frontiers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spruce Power	-94.85%	-34.62%	-6.37%
Research Frontiers	-66.16%	-38.61%	-29.51%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Spruce Power and Research Frontiers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spruce Power	$82.11 million	0.43	-$70.49 million	($4.49)	-0.44
Research Frontiers	$1.34 million	43.53	-$1.31 million	($0.03)	-58.00

Research Frontiers has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Spruce Power. Research Frontiers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Spruce Power, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Spruce Power has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Research Frontiers has a beta of 0.06, indicating that its share price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

20.8% of Spruce Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.9% of Research Frontiers shares are held by institutional investors. 12.7% of Spruce Power shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Research Frontiers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Spruce Power beats Research Frontiers on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spruce Power

Spruce Power Holding Corporation owns and operates distributed solar energy assets in the United States. The company provides subscription-based services for homeowners and businesses to own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage. It offers its subscription-based services to approximately 75,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Research Frontiers

Research Frontiers Incorporated engages in the development and marketing of technology and devices to control the flow of light worldwide. It develops and licenses suspended particle device (SPD-Smart) light-control technology to companies that manufacture and market the SPD-Smart chemical emulsion, light-control film made from the chemical emulsion, the light-control panels made by laminating the film, and electronics to power end-products incorporating the film, as well as lamination services for and the end-products, such as windows, skylights, and sunroofs. The company's SPD-Smart light-control technology is used in various product applications, including windows, sunshades, skylights, and interior partitions for homes and buildings; automotive windows, sunroofs, sun-visors, sunshades, rear-view mirrors, instrument panels, and navigation systems; aircraft windows; museum display panels, and eyewear products; and flat panel displays for electronic products. It serves architectural, automotive, marine, and aerospace and appliance applications. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Woodbury, New York.