Financial Contrast: Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) vs. Electrovaya (NASDAQ:ELVA)

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) and Electrovaya (NASDAQ:ELVA) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Preformed Line Products and Electrovaya’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Preformed Line Products	6.49%	9.16%	6.70%
Electrovaya	-0.06%	-0.21%	-0.07%

Volatility and Risk

Preformed Line Products has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Electrovaya has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.2% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Electrovaya shares are owned by institutional investors. 35.1% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Preformed Line Products and Electrovaya”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Preformed Line Products	$593.71 million	1.27	$37.09 million	$7.89	19.42
Electrovaya	$44.62 million	3.41	-$1.49 million	N/A	N/A

Preformed Line Products has higher revenue and earnings than Electrovaya.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Preformed Line Products and Electrovaya, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Preformed Line Products	0	0	0	0	0.00
Electrovaya	0	0	4	1	3.20

Electrovaya has a consensus price target of $6.10, suggesting a potential upside of 60.95%. Given Electrovaya’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Electrovaya is more favorable than Preformed Line Products.

Summary

Preformed Line Products beats Electrovaya on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Preformed Line Products

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices. It also provides rugged outside plant closures to protect and support wireline and wireless networks, such as copper cable or fiber optic cable from moisture, environmental hazards, and other contaminants; and hardware assemblies, pole line hardware, plastic products, cable dynamics/vibration solutions, interior/exterior connectors, tools, and urethane solutions that are used by energy, renewable energy, communications, cable, and special industries for various applications. The company serves public and private energy utilities and communication companies, cable operators, governmental agencies, contractors and subcontractors, distributors, and value-added resellers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It markets its products through a direct sales force, as well as through manufacturing representatives. Preformed Line Products Company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

About Electrovaya

Electrovaya Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of lithium-ion batteries, battery management systems, and battery-related products for energy storage, clean electric transportation, and other specialized applications in North America. It offers lithium-ion batteries and systems for materials handling electric vehicles, including forklifts and automated guided vehicles, as well as battery chargers to charge the batteries; electromotive power products for electric trucks, electric buses, and other transportation applications; industrial products for energy storage; and power solutions, such as competencies in building systems for third parties. The company was formerly known as Electrofuel Inc. and changed its name to Electrovaya Inc. in March 2002. Electrovaya Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.