Head to Head Survey: Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC) vs. Casio Computer (OTCMKTS:CSIOY)

Casio Computer (OTCMKTS:CSIOY) and Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Casio Computer has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astrotech has a beta of 4.88, indicating that its stock price is 388% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Casio Computer and Astrotech”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Casio Computer	$1.84 billion	1.92	$120.30 million	$6.81	22.03
Astrotech	$1.05 million	14.81	-$13.85 million	($8.41)	-0.88

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.4% of Astrotech shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.8% of Astrotech shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Casio Computer and Astrotech, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Casio Computer	0	0	0	0	0.00
Astrotech	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares Casio Computer and Astrotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Casio Computer	8.23%	10.27%	6.88%
Astrotech	-1,397.82%	-81.85%	-65.46%

Summary

Casio Computer beats Astrotech on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Casio Computer

Casio Computer Co.,Ltd. develops, produces, and sells consumer, system equipment, and other products. The company operates in Timepieces, Consumer, System Equipment, and Other segments. It offers timepieces, electronic dictionaries, calculators, label printers, electronic musical instruments, handheld terminals, cash registers, management support systems, data projectors, formed parts, and molds products. The company was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Astrotech

Astrotech Corporation operates as a mass spectrometry company worldwide. It owns and licenses the intellectual property related to the Astrotech Mass Spectrometer Technology, a platform mass spectrometry technology. The company also develops TRACER 1000, a mass spectrometer-based explosive trace detector to replace the explosives trace detectors used at airports, cargo and other secured facilities, and borders. In addition, it develops AgLAB-1000, a mass spectrometer for use in the hemp and cannabis market. Further, the company develops BreathTest-1000, a breath analysis tool to screen for volatile organic compound metabolites found in a person's breath. The company was formerly known as SPACEHAB, Inc. and changed its name to Astrotech Corporation in 2009. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Austin, Texas.