Reviewing A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) and Pioneer Power Solutions (NASDAQ:PPSI)

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) and Pioneer Power Solutions (NASDAQ:PPSI) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares A. O. Smith and Pioneer Power Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
A. O. Smith	$3.82 billion	2.65	$533.60 million	$3.58	19.86
Pioneer Power Solutions	$22.88 million	1.88	$31.85 million	($0.68)	-5.68

A. O. Smith has higher revenue and earnings than Pioneer Power Solutions. Pioneer Power Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than A. O. Smith, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pioneer Power Solutions has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for A. O. Smith and Pioneer Power Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
A. O. Smith	0	5	2	0	2.29
Pioneer Power Solutions	0	0	1	0	3.00

A. O. Smith presently has a consensus target price of $75.71, indicating a potential upside of 6.47%. Pioneer Power Solutions has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 210.88%. Given Pioneer Power Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Pioneer Power Solutions is more favorable than A. O. Smith.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.9% of Pioneer Power Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.8% of Pioneer Power Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares A. O. Smith and Pioneer Power Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
A. O. Smith	13.74%	28.39%	16.70%
Pioneer Power Solutions	121.51%	-15.02%	-7.87%

Summary

A. O. Smith beats Pioneer Power Solutions on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices. It also provides commercial water treatment and filtration product; expansion tanks, commercial solar water heating systems, swimming pool and spa heaters, and related products and parts; and electric wall-hung, gas tankless, combi-boiler, and heat pump and solar water heaters. The company offers its products under the A. O. Smith, State, Lochinvar, Hague, Water-Right, Master Water, Atlantic Filter, and Water Tec brands. It distributes its products through independent wholesale plumbing distributors, as well as to retail channels consisting of hardware and home center chains, and manufacturer representative firms; and offers Aquasana branded products directly to consumers through e-commerce channels. A. O. Smith Corporation was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Pioneer Power Solutions

Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, design, manufacture, integrate, refurbish, distribute, sell, and service electric power systems, distributed energy resources, power generation equipment, and mobile EV charging solutions. The company operates through Electrical Infrastructure Equipment and Critical Power Solutions segments. The Electrical Infrastructure Equipment segment provides electric power systems that help customers effectively and efficiently protect, control, transfer, monitor, and manage their electric energy requirements. It also offers e-Bloc power systems, power systems, and circuit protective equipment related products. The Critical Power Solutions segment provides power generation equipment maintenance, repairs, remote monitoring, and equipment services, and EV charging solutions. This segment offers suite generator on a truck and power generation equipment, and repair, maintenance, and support services. Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. serves utility, industrial, and commercial markets. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey.