Analyzing Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) and NPK International (NYSE:NPKI)

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) and NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are held by institutional investors. 74.7% of Karooooo shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of NPK International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Karooooo and NPK International”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Karooooo	$249.96 million	5.73	$50.38 million	$1.79	25.92
NPK International	$217.49 million	5.04	-$150.26 million	($1.68)	-7.72

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Karooooo and NPK International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Karooooo	0	2	4	0	2.67
NPK International	0	1	3	0	2.75

Karooooo presently has a consensus target price of $58.25, indicating a potential upside of 25.57%. NPK International has a consensus target price of $12.17, indicating a potential downside of 6.23%. Given Karooooo’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Karooooo is more favorable than NPK International.

Profitability

This table compares Karooooo and NPK International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Karooooo	19.90%	31.64%	20.03%
NPK International	-62.59%	8.29%	6.87%

Volatility and Risk

Karooooo has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NPK International has a beta of 2.1, suggesting that its share price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Karooooo beats NPK International on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Karooooo

Karooooo Ltd. provides mobility software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for connected vehicles in South Africa, rest of Africa, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the United States. The company offers Fleet Telematics, a fleet management SaaS platform that provides real-time insights; LiveVision, which offers pro-active risk management and fleet visibility; MiFleet advanced fleet administration and business intelligence that provides cost management and administration capability services; and Karooooo Logistics, a software application for management of last mile delivery and general operational logistics. It provides Cartrack Field Service, a software application for management of field and on site workers; Business Intelligence for high-level view of fleet statistics; asset tracking for tracking and tracing moveable assets; asset recovery services that assists vehicle owners and insurance companies with the recovery of vehicles and other assets; and insurance telematics that allows insurers to tailor premiums for commercial and consumer customers using analytics; Protector, a safety package for consumer vehicles; and Car Watch, a mobile application that lets users track and watch their vehicles. In addition, the company offers specialist mobility solutions that include Bike Track, a GPS-based solution for commercial motorbike fleets; Credit Management that predicts payment cycles and facilitate active credit management for asset-based vehicle finance; electronic monitoring services application that allows law enforcement agencies to monitor persons of interest; and mobility and monitoring solutions, such as Carzuka, cartrack insurance agency, and on-demand rideshare taxi application, as well as smart IoT products. It provides its solutions through direct sales force to consumers and sole proprietors, small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises, and other connected devices. Karooooo Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.