SoundThinking (NASDAQ:SSTI) vs. Brady (NYSE:BRC) Critical Analysis

SoundThinking (NASDAQ:SSTI) and Brady (NYSE:BRC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.7% of SoundThinking shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.3% of Brady shares are held by institutional investors. 9.2% of SoundThinking shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.6% of Brady shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for SoundThinking and Brady, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SoundThinking	0	0	5	0	3.00
Brady	0	0	0	1	4.00

SoundThinking currently has a consensus target price of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 83.89%. Given SoundThinking’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe SoundThinking is more favorable than Brady.

Profitability

This table compares SoundThinking and Brady’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SoundThinking	-7.39%	-10.77%	-5.67%
Brady	13.35%	19.57%	13.58%

Volatility & Risk

SoundThinking has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brady has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SoundThinking and Brady”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SoundThinking	$102.03 million	1.42	-$9.18 million	($0.61)	-18.72
Brady	$1.34 billion	2.49	$197.21 million	$4.04	17.49

Brady has higher revenue and earnings than SoundThinking. SoundThinking is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brady, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Brady beats SoundThinking on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SoundThinking

SoundThinking, Inc., a public safety technology company that provides transformative solutions and strategic advisory services for law enforcement and civic leadership. Its SafetySmart Platform, an integrated suite of data-driven tools that enable law enforcement and community violence prevention and health organizations to be efficient in public safety outcomes. It offers ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot detection system; CrimeTracer, a law enforcement search engine; CaseBuilder, an investigation management system; and ResourceRouter, a software that directs patrol and community anti-violence resources to help maximize their impact. The company sells its solutions through its direct sales teams. The company was formerly known as ShotSpotter, Inc. and changed its name to SoundThinking, Inc. in April 2023. SoundThinking, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

About Brady

Brady Corporation manufactures and supplies identification solutions (IDS) and workplace safety (WPS) products to identify and protect premises, products, and people in the United States and internationally. The company offers materials, printing systems, RFID, and bar code scanners for product identification, brand protection labeling, work in process labeling, finished product identification, and industrial track and trace applications; safety signs, floor-marking tapes, pipe markers, labeling systems, spill control products, lockout/tagout device, and software and services for safety compliance auditing, procedure writing, and training; and hand-held printers, wire markers, sleeves, and tags for wire identification. It also provides name tags, badges, lanyards, rigid card printing systems, and access control software for people identification; and wristbands, labels, printing systems, and other products for tracking and improving the safety of patients. In addition, the company offers workplace safety, identification, and compliance products, such as safety and compliance signs, tags, labels, and markings; informational signage and markings; asset tracking labels; facility safety and personal protection equipment; first-aid products; and other compliance products for process, government, education, construction, and utilities industries. Further, it provides stock and custom identification products; and sells related resale products. The company serves industrial and electronic manufacturing, healthcare, chemical, oil, gas, automotive, aerospace, governments, mass transit, electrical contractors, education, leisure and entertainment, telecommunications, and other industries through distributors, direct sales force, and digital channels. Brady Corporation was incorporated in 1914 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.