Comparing Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:UEIC) & The Berkeley Group (OTCMKTS:BKGFF)

The Berkeley Group (OTCMKTS:BKGFF) and Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:UEIC) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares The Berkeley Group and Universal Electronics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Berkeley Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Universal Electronics	-4.57%	2.70%	1.44%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares The Berkeley Group and Universal Electronics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Berkeley Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.62	19.37
Universal Electronics	$368.29 million	0.17	-$18.60 million	($1.16)	-4.18

The Berkeley Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Universal Electronics. Universal Electronics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Berkeley Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for The Berkeley Group and Universal Electronics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Berkeley Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Universal Electronics	1	2	0	0	1.67

Universal Electronics has a consensus price target of $4.25, suggesting a potential downside of 12.37%. Given Universal Electronics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Universal Electronics is more favorable than The Berkeley Group.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

45.9% of The Berkeley Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.3% of Universal Electronics shares are held by institutional investors. 17.1% of Universal Electronics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Universal Electronics beats The Berkeley Group on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Berkeley Group

The Berkeley Group Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the residential-led and mixed-use property development and ancillary activities in the United Kingdom. The company is involved in land selling activities. It operates under the Berkeley, St Edward, St George, St James, St Joseph, and St William brand names. The Berkeley Group Holdings plc was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cobham, the United Kingdom.

About Universal Electronics

Universal Electronics Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, ships, and supports control and sensor technology solutions in the United States, the People’s Republic of China, rest of Asia, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company offers voice-enabled automatically-programmed universal two-way radio frequency, as well as infrared remote controls to video service providers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), retailers, and private label customers; wall-mount and handheld thermostat controllers and connected accessories for smart energy management systems to OEM customers, hotels, hospitality, and system integrators; proprietary and standards-based RF sensors for residential security, safety, and home automation applications; and integrated circuits on which its software and universal device control database is embedded to OEMs, video service providers, and private label customers. It also provides software, firmware and technology solutions that can enable devices such as Smart TVs, hybrid set-top boxes, audio systems, smart speakers, game consoles, and other consumer electronic and smart home devices to wirelessly connect and interoperate within home networks; cloud-services that support its embedded software and hardware solutions; intellectual property that the company licenses to OEMs and video service providers; embedded and cloud-enabled software for firmware update provisioning and digital rights management validation services to consumer electronics brands; and AV accessories, including universal remote controls, television wall mounts and stands, and digital television antennas. In addition, the company QuickSet, a software application that can be embedded in entertainment or smart home platform or can be delivered as a cloud-based service, through QuickSet Cloud, to enable universal device setup, interoperability, and control. Universal Electronics Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.