Critical Comparison: Cadre (NYSE:CDRE) & WISeKey International (NASDAQ:WKEY)

Cadre (NYSE:CDRE) and WISeKey International (NASDAQ:WKEY) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Cadre and WISeKey International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cadre	7.33%	13.94%	6.27%
WISeKey International	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

44.0% of Cadre shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.3% of WISeKey International shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.5% of Cadre shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 33.5% of WISeKey International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cadre and WISeKey International”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cadre	$567.56 million	3.12	$36.13 million	$1.12	38.87
WISeKey International	$11.88 million	6.22	-$13.45 million	N/A	N/A

Cadre has higher revenue and earnings than WISeKey International.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Cadre and WISeKey International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cadre	1	0	4	1	2.83
WISeKey International	1	0	2	0	2.33

Cadre presently has a consensus price target of $37.67, suggesting a potential downside of 13.48%. WISeKey International has a consensus price target of $10.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.15%. Given WISeKey International’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe WISeKey International is more favorable than Cadre.

Volatility & Risk

Cadre has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WISeKey International has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cadre beats WISeKey International on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cadre

Cadre Holdings, Inc. manufactures and distributes safety that provides protection to users in hazardous or life-threatening situations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Distribution. It offers body armor product, such as concealable, corrections, and tactical armor under the Safariland and Protech Tactical brand names; survival suits, remotely operated vehicles, specialty tools, blast sensors, accessories, and vehicle blast attenuation seats for bomb safety technicians; bomb suits; duty gear, including belts and accessories; and other protective equipment comprising communications gear, forensic and investigation products, firearms cleaning solutions, and crowd control products. The company also offers third-party products, such as uniforms, optics, boots, firearms, and ammunition. It serves first responders, such as state and local law enforcement, fire and rescue, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, emergency medical technicians, fishing, and wildlife enforcement and departments of corrections, as well as federal agencies including the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Corrections, the Department of Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratories, Waste Isolation Plant, and various foreign government agencies. Cadre Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

About WISeKey International

WISeKey International Holding AG, a cybersecurity company, provides integrated security solutions in Switzerland, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates in two segments, IoT and Managed Public Key Infrastructure (mPKI). It offers microcontrollers that provides identity to various connected devices; and mPKI, which include digital identity, certificate management and signing solutions, and trust services, as well as offers digital certificates; software as a service, including cloud-based certificate life-cycle-management and signing and authentication solutions; software licenses; post-contract customer support for cybersecurity applications; and infrastructure hosting and monitoring services. The company also develops, markets, hosts, and supports a range of solutions that enable secure digital identification of people, content, and objects by generating digital identities through its products and services in cybersecurity services, IoT, digital brand management, and mobile security, which enable clients to monetize their existing user bases, as well as expand its eco-system. In addition, it engages in financing, sales, and distribution activities; and sells semiconductors secure chips. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.