Head-To-Head Comparison: Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) and ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS)

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) and Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.8% of ePlus shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of ePlus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 35.6% of Acorn Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for ePlus and Acorn Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ePlus	0	2	0	0	2.00
Acorn Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00

Volatility & Risk

ePlus has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acorn Energy has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

ePlus pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Acorn Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. ePlus pays out 23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Acorn Energy pays out 15.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ePlus and Acorn Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ePlus	$2.44 billion	0.98	$132.64 million	$4.57	20.16
Acorn Energy	$9.57 million	3.84	$2.51 million	$0.88	16.62

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

Profitability

This table compares ePlus and Acorn Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ePlus	5.02%	12.01%	7.00%
Acorn Energy	23.04%	17.73%	11.40%

Summary

ePlus beats Acorn Energy on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ePlus

ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; managed services or infrastructure and cloud; and enhanced maintenance support, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted and managed, and managed security services; and professional, staff augmentation, cloud consulting, consulting, and security services. The Financing segment engages in financing arrangements, such as sales-type and operating leases; loans and consumption-based financing arrangements; and underwriting, management, and disposal of IT equipment and assets. Its financing operations comprise sales, pricing, credit, contracts, accounting, and risk and asset management. This segment primarily finances IT, communication-related, and medical equipment; and industrial machinery and equipment, office furniture and general office equipment, transportation equipment, and other general business equipment directly, as well as through vendors. The company serves commercial entities, state and local governments, government contractors, healthcare, and educational institutions. The company was formerly known as MLC Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to ePlus inc. in 1999. ePlus inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

About Acorn Energy

Acorn Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and markets wireless remote monitoring and control systems for various markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Power Generation (PG) Monitoring and Cathodic Protection (CP) Monitoring. The PG segment provides wireless remote monitoring and control systems, and services for critical assets, which include stand-by power generators, compressors, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers, turbines, and other industrial equipment; and Internet of Things applications. The CP segment offers remote monitoring of cathodic protection systems on gas pipelines for gas utilities and pipeline companies. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.