Reviewing Advent Technologies (NASDAQ:ADN) & ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE)

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) and Advent Technologies (NASDAQ:ADN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.7% of ESCO Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.5% of Advent Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of ESCO Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Advent Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ESCO Technologies and Advent Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ESCO Technologies	10.37%	11.19%	7.12%
Advent Technologies	N/A	N/A	-239.12%

Risk and Volatility

ESCO Technologies has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advent Technologies has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for ESCO Technologies and Advent Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ESCO Technologies	0	0	3	0	3.00
Advent Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00

ESCO Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $187.50, indicating a potential downside of 13.59%. Given ESCO Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe ESCO Technologies is more favorable than Advent Technologies.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ESCO Technologies and Advent Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ESCO Technologies	$1.10 billion	5.12	$101.88 million	$11.55	18.79
Advent Technologies	$115,000.00	27.67	-$40.99 million	($6.31)	-0.14

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

Summary

ESCO Technologies beats Advent Technologies on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc. produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines. It also designs, develops, and manufactures elastomeric-based signature reduction solutions for U.S. naval vessels; and mission-critical bushings, pins, sleeves, and precision-tolerance machined components for landing gear, rotor heads, engine mounts, flight controls, and actuation systems for the aerospace and defense industries. The Utility Solutions Group segment provides diagnostic testing solutions that enable electric power grid operators to assess the integrity of high-voltage power delivery equipment; and decision support tools for the renewable energy industry, primarily wind and solar. The RF Test & Measurement segment designs and manufactures RF test and secure communication facilities, acoustic test enclosures, RF and magnetically shielded rooms, RF measurement systems, and broadcast and recording studios; and RF absorptive materials, filters, antennas, field probes, test cells, proprietary measurement software, and other test accessories to perform various tests. The company distributes its products through a network of distributors, sales representatives, direct sales teams, and in-house sales personnel. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.

About Advent Technologies

Advent Technologies Holdings, Inc., an advanced materials and technology development company, operates in the fuel cell and hydrogen technology markets in North America, Europe, and Asia. It develops, manufactures, and assembles fuel cell systems and critical components that determine the performance of hydrogen fuel cells and other energy systems. The company offers high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cells, including membrane electrode assemblies, bipolar plates, and reformers, as well as provides fuel-cell stack assembly and testing services. It serves stationary power, portable power, automotive, aviation, energy storage, and sensor markets. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.