Critical Review: SES AI (NYSE:SES) & Workhorse Group (NASDAQ:WKHS)

Workhorse Group (NASDAQ:WKHS) and SES AI (NYSE:SES) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Workhorse Group and SES AI”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Workhorse Group	$6.62 million	1.83	-$101.79 million	($85.96)	-0.07
SES AI	$2.04 million	346.28	-$100.18 million	($0.28)	-6.91

SES AI has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Workhorse Group. SES AI is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Workhorse Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Workhorse Group has a beta of 2.32, suggesting that its stock price is 132% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SES AI has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Workhorse Group and SES AI’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Workhorse Group	-606.64%	-232.69%	-71.18%
SES AI	-490.03%	-35.31%	-29.81%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.0% of Workhorse Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.8% of SES AI shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Workhorse Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.8% of SES AI shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Workhorse Group and SES AI, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Workhorse Group	1	0	0	0	1.00
SES AI	1	0	1	0	2.00

SES AI has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 106.72%. Given SES AI’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SES AI is more favorable than Workhorse Group.

Summary

SES AI beats Workhorse Group on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Workhorse Group

Workhorse Group Inc., a technology company, engages in design, manufacture, and sale of zero-emission commercial vehicles in the United States. The company offers commercial vehicles under the Workhorse brand. The company was formerly known as AMP Holding Inc. and changed its name to Workhorse Group Inc. in April 2015. Workhorse Group Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Sharonville, Ohio.

About SES AI

SES AI Corporation engages in the development and production of high-performance Lithium-metal rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, electric vehicle take-off and landing, and other applications. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.