Comparing Acorn Energy (OTCMKTS:ACFN) and Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA)

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) and Acorn Energy (OTCMKTS:ACFN) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Bel Fuse and Acorn Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bel Fuse	0	1	1	1	3.00
Acorn Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Bel Fuse currently has a consensus price target of $115.00, suggesting a potential downside of 23.19%. Given Bel Fuse’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Bel Fuse is more favorable than Acorn Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Bel Fuse and Acorn Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bel Fuse	10.04%	21.18%	8.77%
Acorn Energy	56.00%	78.08%	28.31%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

6.0% of Bel Fuse shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Bel Fuse shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 35.1% of Acorn Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bel Fuse and Acorn Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bel Fuse	$534.79 million	3.54	$40.96 million	$4.93	30.37
Acorn Energy	$12.63 million	3.16	$6.29 million	$2.65	6.00

Bel Fuse has higher revenue and earnings than Acorn Energy. Acorn Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bel Fuse, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Bel Fuse has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acorn Energy has a beta of 0.12, suggesting that its stock price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Bel Fuse pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acorn Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bel Fuse pays out 4.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Acorn Energy pays out 5.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Bel Fuse has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Bel Fuse beats Acorn Energy on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company's products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries. It provides power solutions and protection products, including front-end power supplies, board-mount power products, industrial and transportation power products, external power products, and circuit protection products. The company also offers connectivity solutions, such as expanded beam fiber optic connectors, cable assemblies, and active optical devices; copper-based connectors/cable assemblies; radio frequency connectors, cable assemblies, microwave devices, and low loss cables; and ethernet, I/O, and industrial and power connectivity products. In addition, it provides magnetic solutions comprising integrated connector modules, power transformers, SMD power inductors and SMPS transformers, and ethernet discrete components. The company sells its products through direct strategic account managers, regional sales managers working with independent sales representative organizations, and authorized distributors in the United States, the People's Republic of China, Macao, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Germany, India, Switzerland, and internationally. Bel Fuse Inc. was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in West Orange, New Jersey.

About Acorn Energy

Acorn Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops and markets wireless remote monitoring and control systems for various markets in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Power Generation (PG) Monitoring and Cathodic Protection (CP) Monitoring. The PG segment provides wireless remote monitoring and control systems, and services for critical assets, which include stand-by power generators, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers, turbines, compressors, fire pumps, and other industrial equipment; and Internet of Things applications. The CP segment offers remote monitoring and control products for cathodic protection systems utilized in gas pipelines for gas utilities market and pipeline operators. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.