Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) and Benchmark Electronics (NYSE:BHE) Critical Survey

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Benchmark Electronics	1.89%	7.28%	3.81%
Acorn Energy	16.12%	10.06%	6.32%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Benchmark Electronics and Acorn Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Benchmark Electronics	0	1	2	0	2.67
Acorn Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00

Benchmark Electronics presently has a consensus price target of $91.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.51%. Given Benchmark Electronics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Benchmark Electronics is more favorable than Acorn Energy.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.3% of Benchmark Electronics shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Benchmark Electronics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 35.6% of Acorn Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Benchmark Electronics has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acorn Energy has a beta of 0.24, suggesting that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Benchmark Electronics and Acorn Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Benchmark Electronics	$2.66 billion	1.11	$24.85 million	$1.47	56.02
Acorn Energy	$11.48 million	4.55	$2.51 million	$0.61	34.10

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

Summary

Benchmark Electronics beats Acorn Energy on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Benchmark Electronics

Benchmark Electronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, offers product design, engineering services, technology solutions, and manufacturing services in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The company provides engineering services and technology solutions, including new product design, prototype, testing, and related engineering services; and custom testing and technology solutions, as well as automation equipment design and build services. It also offers electronics manufacturing and testing services, such as printed circuit board assembly and test solutions, assembly of subsystems, circuitry and functionality testing of printed assemblies, environmental and stress testing, and component reliability testing; component engineering services; manufacturing defect analysis, in-circuit testing, functional testing, and life cycle testing services, as well as environmental stress tests of assemblies of boards or systems; and failure analysis. In addition, the company provides precision machining and electromechanical assembly services; and subsystem and system integration services, including assembly, configuration, and testing for various industries. Further, it provides value-added support systems; supply chain management solutions; direct order fulfillment; and aftermarket non-warranty services, including repair, replacement, refurbishment, remanufacturing, exchange, systems upgrade, and spare parts manufacturing throughout a product’s life cycle. The company serves original equipment manufacturers in the aerospace and defense, medical technologies, complex industrials, semiconductor capital equipment, telecommunications, and advanced computing industries. It markets its services and solutions primarily through a direct sales force. The company was formerly known as Electronics, Inc. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

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.