Comparing Pioneer Power Solutions (NASDAQ:PPSI) and AZZ (NYSE:AZZ)

Pioneer Power Solutions (NASDAQ:PPSI) and AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pioneer Power Solutions and AZZ”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pioneer Power Solutions	$31.28 million	1.58	$31.85 million	($0.68)	-6.54
AZZ	$1.58 billion	1.90	$128.83 million	$10.40	9.60

AZZ has higher revenue and earnings than Pioneer Power Solutions. Pioneer Power Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AZZ, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Pioneer Power Solutions and AZZ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pioneer Power Solutions	105.23%	-11.16%	-6.82%
AZZ	19.69%	15.01%	7.78%

Risk and Volatility

Pioneer Power Solutions has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AZZ has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

10.9% of Pioneer Power Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.9% of AZZ shares are held by institutional investors. 26.6% of Pioneer Power Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of AZZ shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Pioneer Power Solutions and AZZ, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pioneer Power Solutions	0	1	1	0	2.50
AZZ	0	3	6	2	2.91

Pioneer Power Solutions currently has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 169.66%. AZZ has a consensus target price of $115.43, indicating a potential upside of 15.67%. Given Pioneer Power Solutions’ higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Pioneer Power Solutions is more favorable than AZZ.

Summary

AZZ beats Pioneer Power Solutions on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pioneer Power Solutions

Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, design, manufacture, integrate, refurbish, distribute, sell, and service electric power systems, distributed energy resources, power generation equipment, and mobile EV charging solutions. The company operates through Electrical Infrastructure Equipment and Critical Power Solutions segments. The Electrical Infrastructure Equipment segment provides electric power systems that help customers effectively and efficiently protect, control, transfer, monitor, and manage their electric energy requirements. It also offers e-Bloc power systems, power systems, and circuit protective equipment related products. The Critical Power Solutions segment provides power generation equipment maintenance, repairs, remote monitoring, and equipment services, and EV charging solutions. This segment offers suite generator on a truck and power generation equipment, and repair, maintenance, and support services. Pioneer Power Solutions, Inc. serves utility, industrial, and commercial markets. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc. provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers. It also provides aesthetic and corrosion protective coatings and related value-added services for steel and aluminum coil primarily serving the construction; appliance; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; container; transportation; and other end markets. The company was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.