Head to Head Review: Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) vs. Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA)

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) and Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Rush Enterprises and Hudson Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rush Enterprises	3.67%	11.65%	5.84%
Hudson Technologies	3.51%	4.95%	3.81%

Risk & Volatility

Rush Enterprises has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hudson Technologies has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Rush Enterprises and Hudson Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rush Enterprises	1	1	3	0	2.40
Hudson Technologies	1	2	2	0	2.20

Rush Enterprises presently has a consensus price target of $46.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.45%. Hudson Technologies has a consensus price target of $8.62, suggesting a potential upside of 71.13%. Given Hudson Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hudson Technologies is more favorable than Rush Enterprises.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Rush Enterprises and Hudson Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rush Enterprises	$7.24 billion	0.72	$263.78 million	$2.21	20.32
Hudson Technologies	$256.92 million	0.83	$16.67 million	$0.20	25.20

Rush Enterprises has higher revenue and earnings than Hudson Technologies. Rush Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hudson Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.4% of Rush Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Hudson Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 12.7% of Rush Enterprises shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Hudson Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Rush Enterprises beats Hudson Technologies on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retailer of commercial vehicles and related services in the United States and Canada. The company operates a network of commercial vehicle dealerships under the Rush Truck Centers name. Its Rush Truck Centers primarily sell commercial vehicles manufactured by Peterbilt, International, Hino, Ford, Isuzu, IC Bus, Blue Bird, and Dennis Eagle. The company also offers new and used commercial vehicles, and aftermarket parts, as well as service and repair, financing, and leasing and rental services; and offers property and casualty insurance, including collision and liability insurance on commercial vehicles, cargo insurance, and credit life insurance products. In addition, it provides equipment installation and repair, parts installation, and paint and body repair services; new vehicle pre-delivery inspection, truck modification, and natural gas fuel system installation services, body, chassis upfitting, and component installation services; and vehicle telematics products, as well as sells new and used trailers, and tires for use on commercial vehicles. The company serves regional and national fleets, corporations, local and state governments, and owner-operators. It operates a network of centers located in the states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Ontario. Rush Enterprises, Inc. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas.

About Hudson Technologies

Hudson Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Hudson Technologies Company, engages in the provision of solutions to recurring problems within the refrigeration industry in the United States. The company engages in the sale of refrigerant and industrial gas; provision of refrigerant management services consisting primarily of reclamation of refrigerants, re-usable cylinder refurbishment, and hydrostatic testing services; and RefrigerantSide services comprising system decontamination and recovery to remove moisture, oils, and other contaminants. It also offers Chiller Chemistry, which integrates several fluid tests of an operating system and the corresponding laboratory results into an engineering report; Fluid Chemistry, an abbreviated version of Chiller Chemistry, which is designed to quickly identify systems that require further examination; SmartEnergy OPS, a web-based real time continuous monitoring system, for measuring, modifying and improving the efficiency of energy systems, including air conditioning and refrigeration systems, in industrial and commercial applications; and ChillSmart, which combines the system optimization with Chiller Chemistry for providing a snapshot of a packaged chiller's operating efficiency and health. In addition, the company participates in the generation of carbon offset projects. It serves commercial, industrial, and governmental customers, as well as refrigerant wholesalers, distributors, contractors, and refrigeration equipment manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.