Critical Survey: Kion Group (OTCMKTS:KIGRY) & ScanSource (NASDAQ:SCSC)

ScanSource (NASDAQ:SCSC) and Kion Group (OTCMKTS:KIGRY) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

ScanSource has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kion Group has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its stock price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for ScanSource and Kion Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ScanSource	0	0	1	1	3.50
Kion Group	0	0	1	3	3.75

ScanSource currently has a consensus price target of $42.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.52%. Given ScanSource’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe ScanSource is more favorable than Kion Group.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.9% of ScanSource shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of ScanSource shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ScanSource and Kion Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ScanSource	2.35%	9.38%	4.87%
Kion Group	2.08%	3.89%	1.27%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ScanSource and Kion Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ScanSource	$3.04 billion	0.32	$71.55 million	$3.01	14.61
Kion Group	$12.45 billion	0.71	$389.88 million	$0.48	35.14

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

About ScanSource

ScanSource, Inc. engages in the distribution of technology products and solutions in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. It operates through two segments, Specialty Technology Solutions and Modern Communications & Cloud. The Specialty Technology Solutions segment provides a portfolio of solutions primarily for enterprise mobile computing, data capture, barcode printing, point of sale (POS), payments, networking, electronic physical security, cyber security, and other technologies. This segment offers data capture and POS solutions to automate the collection, processing, and communication of information for commercial and industrial applications, including retail sales, distribution, shipping, inventory control, materials handling, warehouse management, and health care applications. It also provides electronic physical security products, such as identification, access control, video surveillance, and intrusion-related devices; networking products comprising wireless and networking infrastructure products; other software-as-a-service (SaaS) products; and engages in hardware rental activities. The Modern Communications & Cloud segment offers a portfolio of solutions primarily for communications technologies and services comprising voice, video conferencing, wireless, data networking, cybersecurity, cable, unified communications and collaboration, cloud, and technology services, as well as IP networks and other solutions for various vertical markets, such as education, healthcare, and government. The company serves manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, retail and e-commerce, hospitality, transportation and logistics, government, education and healthcare, and other industries. ScanSource, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

About Kion Group

KION GROUP AG provides industrial trucks and supply chain solutions worldwide. The company operates in Industrial Trucks & Services and Supply Chain Solutions segments. It offers forklift trucks, counterbalance trucks with electric drive and internal combustion engine, ride-on and hand-operated warehouse trucks, automated guided vehicle systems (AGVs), and towing vehicles under the Linde, STILL, Baoli, Fenwick, and OM brands. The company also manufactures and sells spare parts; leases and rents industrial trucks and related items; and offers maintenance and repair, and fleet management services, as well as provides finance solutions. In addition, it provides integrated technology and software solutions, including automated guided vehicle systems, palletizers, storage and picking equipment, automated storage and retrieval systems, sorters, and conveyors under the Dematic brand. The company was formerly known as KION Holding 1 GmbH. KION GROUP AG was founded in 2006 and is based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.