Comparing Mistras Group (NYSE:MG) & Electrovaya (NASDAQ:ELVA)

Mistras Group (NYSE:MG) and Electrovaya (NASDAQ:ELVA) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.9% of Mistras Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Electrovaya shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.8% of Mistras Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Mistras Group has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Electrovaya has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Mistras Group and Electrovaya, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mistras Group	0	1	0	1	3.00
Electrovaya	0	2	2	1	2.80

Mistras Group presently has a consensus target price of $16.00, indicating a potential downside of 10.54%. Electrovaya has a consensus target price of $11.17, indicating a potential upside of 15.96%. Given Electrovaya’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Electrovaya is more favorable than Mistras Group.

Profitability

This table compares Mistras Group and Electrovaya’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mistras Group	2.33%	12.77%	4.94%
Electrovaya	7.07%	14.29%	7.33%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mistras Group and Electrovaya”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mistras Group	$724.02 million	0.79	$16.84 million	$0.53	33.75
Electrovaya	$63.83 million	7.24	$3.36 million	$0.12	80.25

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

Summary

Electrovaya beats Mistras Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mistras Group

Mistras Group, Inc. provides technology-enabled asset protection solutions in the United States, other Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers non-destructive testing services; inline inspection for pipelines; and plant condition management software. It also provides maintenance and light mechanical services, such as corrosion removal, mitigation and prevention, insulation installation and removal, electrical, heat tracing, industrial cleaning, pipefitting, and welding; engineering consulting services primarily for process equipment, technologies, and facilities; and utilizes scaffolding and rope access to access at-height and confined assets. In addition, the company offers certified divers for subsea inspection and maintenance; unmanned aerial, land-based, and subsea systems for inspection applications; online condition-monitoring solutions; quality assurance and quality control solutions for new and existing metal and alloy components, materials, and composites. Further, it builds monitoring systems, as well as provides inspection, maintenance, monitoring and data services; and Web-based solutions. Additionally, the company designs, manufactures, and sells acoustic emission sensors, instruments, and turnkey systems for monitoring and testing materials, pressure components, processes, and structures; and ultrasonic testing equipment. It serves oil and gas, aerospace and defense, fossil and nuclear power, power generation and transmission, civil infrastructure, manufacturing, industrial, public infrastructure, petrochemical, transportation, and other process industries, as well as infrastructure, research, and engineering industries. Mistras Group, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.

About Electrovaya

Electrovaya Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of lithium-ion batteries, battery management systems, and battery-related products for energy storage, clean electric transportation, and other specialized applications in North America. It offers lithium-ion batteries and systems for materials handling electric vehicles, including forklifts and automated guided vehicles, as well as battery chargers to charge the batteries; electromotive power products for electric trucks, electric buses, and other transportation applications; industrial products for energy storage; and power solutions, such as competencies in building systems for third parties. The company was formerly known as Electrofuel Inc. and changed its name to Electrovaya Inc. in March 2002. Electrovaya Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.