Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI – Get Free Report) and StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
73.2% of StoneCo shares are held by institutional investors. 15.9% of Forward Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of StoneCo shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Forward Industries has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StoneCo has a beta of 1.75, suggesting that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Forward Industries | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
| StoneCo | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2.40 |
Forward Industries currently has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 34.71%. StoneCo has a consensus target price of $14.30, suggesting a potential upside of 41.44%. Given StoneCo’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe StoneCo is more favorable than Forward Industries.
Profitability
This table compares Forward Industries and StoneCo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Forward Industries | -2,073.82% | -18.05% | -17.03% |
| StoneCo | 22.92% | 22.19% | 4.10% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Forward Industries and StoneCo”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Forward Industries | $53.12 million | 8.77 | -$166.97 million | $0.12 | 52.58 |
| StoneCo | $13.59 billion | 0.19 | $425.73 million | $2.48 | 4.08 |
StoneCo has higher revenue and earnings than Forward Industries. StoneCo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Forward Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
StoneCo beats Forward Industries on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Forward Industries
Forward Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, markets, and distributes carry and protective solutions primarily for handheld electronic devices. The company operates in three segments: OEM Distribution, Retail Distribution, and Design. The OEM Distribution segment sources and distributes carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits; and various portable electronic and non-electronic products, such as sporting and recreational products, bar code scanners, GPS devices, tablets, and firearms. The Retail Distribution segment sources and sells smart-enabled furniture and a range of other products through agreements with various retailers, including in stores and online retailer websites. The Design segment provides hardware and software product design and engineering services. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Forward Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Hauppauge, New York.
About StoneCo
StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team. The company served small-and-medium-sized businesses; and marketplaces, e-commerce platforms, and integrated software vendors. StoneCo Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in George Town, the Cayman Islands.
Receive News & Ratings for Forward Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Forward Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
