Contrasting Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) and Location Based Technologies (OTCMKTS:LBAS)

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) and Location Based Technologies (OTCMKTS:LBAS) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Preformed Line Products has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Location Based Technologies has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.2% of Preformed Line Products shares are held by institutional investors. 35.1% of Preformed Line Products shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.1% of Location Based Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Preformed Line Products and Location Based Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Preformed Line Products	5.62%	10.09%	7.37%
Location Based Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Preformed Line Products and Location Based Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Preformed Line Products	$593.71 million	1.78	$37.09 million	$7.55	28.61
Location Based Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Preformed Line Products has higher revenue and earnings than Location Based Technologies.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Preformed Line Products and Location Based Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Preformed Line Products	0	0	1	0	3.00
Location Based Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00

Summary

Preformed Line Products beats Location Based Technologies on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Preformed Line Products

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices. It also provides rugged outside plant closures to protect and support wireline and wireless networks, such as copper cable or fiber optic cable from moisture, environmental hazards, and other contaminants; and hardware assemblies, pole line hardware, plastic products, cable dynamics/vibration solutions, interior/exterior connectors, tools, and urethane solutions that are used by energy, renewable energy, communications, cable, and special industries for various applications. The company serves public and private energy utilities and communication companies, cable operators, governmental agencies, contractors and subcontractors, distributors, and value-added resellers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It markets its products through a direct sales force, as well as through manufacturing representatives. Preformed Line Products Company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

About Location Based Technologies

Location Based Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and sells commercial and consumer wearable global positioning system (GPS) tracking solutions based on worldwide GSM network. It offers consumer products under the PocketFinder brand, including PocketFinder, PocketFinder luggage, PocketFinder Pet, and PocketFinder Vehicle that displays information to users regarding device location, longitude, latitude, altitude, heading or direction, speed, and 60 days of location history; and set alerts that will trigger an email, text, or push notification to notify them when their device exceeds a pre-determined parameter, such as speed, battery life, or entry/exit of a geo-zone. The company's PocketFinder Personal/Pet or luggage devices include small devices that are ideal for tracking or locating any mobile asset, person, pet, or valuable item; and PocketFinder Vehicle tracker is to be hardwired to any powered asset, such as vehicle, watercraft, or mobile generator to locate and track a mobile assets. It also provides commercial products under the LBT brand, including LBT-886 and LBT Vehicle Tracker. The company's LBT-886 comprises location device that enables a user to locate and track any person or mobile asset; and LBT Vehicle Tracker provides tracking features with capabilities, such as temperature, light and humidity monitoring, engine on/off monitoring, and starter interrupt engine capability or lone worker emergency alerts. It markets and sells its commercial products to small/midsize businesses, enterprise businesses, and governmental organizations that need to track vehicles, mobile equipment, portable assets, and workers through online retailers, as well as through its pocketfinder.com Website. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Irvine, California.