Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC – Get Free Report) and ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Preformed Line Products and ESS Tech”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Preformed Line Products | $669.34 million | 3.39 | $35.28 million | $8.88 | 52.32 |
| ESS Tech | -$1.17 million | -15.36 | -$63.44 million | ($2.93) | -0.21 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
41.2% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.8% of ESS Tech shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.0% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of ESS Tech shares are owned 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.
Risk and Volatility
Preformed Line Products has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESS Tech has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Preformed Line Products and ESS Tech, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Preformed Line Products | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.50 |
| ESS Tech | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Preformed Line Products presently has a consensus price target of $275.00, suggesting a potential downside of 40.81%. ESS Tech has a consensus price target of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 226.26%. Given ESS Tech’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ESS Tech is more favorable than Preformed Line Products.
Profitability
This table compares Preformed Line Products and ESS Tech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Preformed Line Products | 5.82% | 10.64% | 7.65% |
| ESS Tech | N/A | -1,934.84% | -156.40% |
Summary
Preformed Line Products beats ESS Tech on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Preformed Line Products
Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices. It also provides rugged outside plant closures to protect and support wireline and wireless networks, such as copper cable or fiber optic cable from moisture, environmental hazards, and other contaminants; and hardware assemblies, pole line hardware, plastic products, cable dynamics/vibration solutions, interior/exterior connectors, tools, and urethane solutions that are used by energy, renewable energy, communications, cable, and special industries for various applications. The company serves public and private energy utilities and communication companies, cable operators, governmental agencies, contractors and subcontractors, distributors, and value-added resellers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It markets its products through a direct sales force, as well as through manufacturing representatives. Preformed Line Products Company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.
About ESS Tech
ESS Tech, Inc., an energy storage company, designs and produces iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications worldwide. It offers energy storage products, which include Energy Warehouse, a behind-the-meter solution; and Energy Center, a front-of-the-meter solution. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon.
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