Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS – Get Free Report) and Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Plexus and Badger Meter”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Plexus | $4.03 billion | 1.69 | $172.88 million | $6.78 | 37.66 |
| Badger Meter | $880.96 million | 4.12 | $141.63 million | $4.28 | 29.28 |
Volatility & Risk
Plexus has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Badger Meter has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
94.5% of Plexus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.0% of Badger Meter shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Plexus shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Badger Meter shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Plexus and Badger Meter’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Plexus | 4.03% | 12.46% | 5.57% |
| Badger Meter | 14.27% | 18.03% | 12.82% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Plexus and Badger Meter, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Plexus | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Badger Meter | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.36 |
Plexus presently has a consensus target price of $273.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.92%. Badger Meter has a consensus target price of $164.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.85%. Given Badger Meter’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Badger Meter is more favorable than Plexus.
Summary
Plexus beats Badger Meter on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Plexus
Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin.
About Badger Meter
Badger Meter, Inc. manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives. In addition, the company offers ORION Cellular endpoints to power network as a service; ORION mobile read endpoints support for deploying AMR solution; radio products; hardware, instruments, and sensors, and related software, to enhance connected data to a water utility's operation; water quality monitoring solutions, including optical sensing and electrochemical instruments; and high frequency pressure and leak detection sensors to aid in burst pipe and leak events; as well as BEACON, a secure cloud-hosted software suite that establishes alerts for specific conditions and allows consumer engagement tools that permit end water customers to view and manage their water usage activity. Its flow instrumentation products are used in water/wastewater, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, and corporate sustainability markets. The company serves water utilities, commercial, and industrial industries; and provides training, project management, technical support, and other collaborative services for customers. It sells its products and software directly, as well as through resellers and representatives. The company was incorporated in 1905 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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