Virco Manufacturing (NASDAQ:VIRC – Get Free Report) and Fuel Tech (NASDAQ:FTEK – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Virco Manufacturing and Fuel Tech, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Virco Manufacturing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Fuel Tech | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Virco Manufacturing and Fuel Tech”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Virco Manufacturing | $199.65 million | 0.51 | $2.57 million | ($0.16) | -40.50 |
| Fuel Tech | $26.68 million | 1.93 | -$2.32 million | ($0.11) | -15.00 |
Virco Manufacturing has higher revenue and earnings than Fuel Tech. Virco Manufacturing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fuel Tech, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Virco Manufacturing and Fuel Tech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Virco Manufacturing | -1.31% | -2.32% | -1.39% |
| Fuel Tech | -12.75% | -8.88% | -7.62% |
Volatility and Risk
Virco Manufacturing has a beta of 0.14, meaning that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fuel Tech has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
31.0% of Virco Manufacturing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.9% of Fuel Tech shares are held by institutional investors. 16.9% of Virco Manufacturing shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of Fuel Tech 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
Virco Manufacturing beats Fuel Tech on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Virco Manufacturing
Virco Mfg. Corporation engages in the design, production, and distribution of furniture in the United States and Canada. The company offers seating products, including 4-leg chairs, cantilever chairs, mobile task chairs and lab stools, tablet armchairs, steel-frame and floor rockers, series stools, hard plastic seating, folding and upholstered stack chairs, and plastic stack and upholstered ergonomic chairs. It also provides activity, butcher block, folding, office, technology, and mobile tables; desks and workstations, and instructor media stations and towers; chair desks and combo units, tablet arm and caster units, mobile workstations, student desks, and returns and credenzas; and computer furniture solutions. In addition, the company provides administrative office furniture, including desks, returns, bookcases, and other items, as well as steel storage cabinets, wardrobe tower cabinets, file credenzas, and mobile pedestals; laboratory furniture comprising steel-based science tables, table bases, lab stools, and wood-frame science tables; mobile furniture, such as mobile tables, mobile cabinets, and mobile chairs for school settings and offices; and handling and storage equipment, and stackable storage trucks. It serves public and private educational institutions, charter schools, convention centers and arenas, hospitality providers, government facilities, and places of worship through its sales and support teams, and dealers' network. Virco Mfg. Corporation was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Torrance, California.
About Fuel Tech
Fuel Tech, Inc. provides boiler optimization, efficiency improvement, and air pollution reduction and control solutions to utility and industrial customers worldwide. The company operates through Air Pollution Control Technology and FUEL CHEM Technology segments. The Air Pollution Control Technology segment offers technologies to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in flue gas from boilers, incinerators, furnaces, and other stationary combustion sources; NOxOUT and HERT selective non-catalytic reduction systems; selective catalytic reduction systems comprising ammonia injection grid, and graduated straightening grid systems; I-NOx systems; ESP Processes and Services; ULTRA technology; and flue gas conditioning systems. The FUEL CHEM Technology segment provides programs to improve the efficiency, reliability, fuel flexibility, boiler heat rate, and environmental status of combustion units by controlling slagging, fouling, corrosion, opacity, and acid plume, as well as the formation of sulfur trioxide, ammonium bisulfate, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide through the addition of chemicals into the furnace using TIFI targeted in-furnace injection technology. This segment offers its FUEL CHEM program for plants operating in the electric utility, industrial, pulp and paper, waste-to-energy, and university and district heating markets; and the owners of boilers, furnaces, and other combustion units. Fuel Tech, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Warrenville, Illinois.
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