Contrasting National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) and Great Elm Group (NASDAQ:GEG)

Great Elm Group (NASDAQ:GEG) and National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) are both small-cap multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Great Elm Group and National Presto Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Elm Group	-60.61%	-37.04%	-18.39%
National Presto Industries	8.18%	10.42%	8.24%

Risk & Volatility

Great Elm Group has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Presto Industries has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.8% of Great Elm Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.6% of National Presto Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 49.7% of Great Elm Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.0% of National Presto Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Great Elm Group and National Presto Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Elm Group	$16.32 million	4.11	$12.89 million	($0.54)	-3.80
National Presto Industries	$388.23 million	2.45	$41.46 million	$5.44	24.44

National Presto Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Great Elm Group. Great Elm Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Presto Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Great Elm Group and National Presto Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Elm Group	1	0	0	0	1.00
National Presto Industries	0	0	1	0	3.00

Summary

National Presto Industries beats Great Elm Group on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Great Elm Group

Great Elm Group, Inc. operates as a asset management company. The company engages in credit, real estate, and finance businesses. It is also involved in business development related activities and offers investment management services. The company was formerly known as Great Elm Capital Group, Inc. and changed its name to Great Elm Group, Inc. in December 2020. Great Elm Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

About National Presto Industries

National Presto Industries, Inc. provides housewares and small appliance, defense, and safety products in North America. The company’s Housewares/Small Appliance segment designs, markets, and distributes housewares and small electrical appliances, including pressure cookers and canners; heat control line of skillets, griddles, woks, and multi-purpose cookers; slow cookers; deep fryers; air fryers; waffle makers; pizza ovens; slicer/shredders; electric heaters; hot air, oil, and microwave corn poppers; dehydrators; vacuum sealers; rice cookers; microwave bacon cookers; egg cookers; coffeemakers and coffeemaker accessories; electric knife sharpeners; and timers under the Presto Control Master brand. This segment sells its products directly to retailers, as well as through independent distributors. Its Defense segment manufactures and sells 40mm ammunition, precision mechanical and electro-mechanical products, medium caliber cartridge cases; and metal parts; and detonators, booster pellets, release cartridges, lead azide, and other military energetic devices and materials. This segment primarily serves the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and DOD prime contractors. The company’s Safety segment patents machine learning, digital sensors, and cloud-based technology to monitor freezers and refrigerators that detects and alerts users to potential safety issues around pharmaceuticals and food. National Presto Industries, Inc. was founded in 1905 and is based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.