Comparing B.O.S. Better Online Solutions (NASDAQ:BOSC) and Knowles (NYSE:KN)

B.O.S. Better Online Solutions (NASDAQ:BOSC) and Knowles (NYSE:KN) are both technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and risk.

Risk and Volatility

B.O.S. Better Online Solutions has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Knowles has a beta of 1.59, suggesting that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.1% of B.O.S. Better Online Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.3% of Knowles shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of B.O.S. Better Online Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Knowles shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares B.O.S. Better Online Solutions and Knowles”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
B.O.S. Better Online Solutions	$50.57 million	0.66	$3.61 million	$0.52	9.12
Knowles	$593.20 million	5.06	$44.20 million	$0.77	45.61

Knowles has higher revenue and earnings than B.O.S. Better Online Solutions. B.O.S. Better Online Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Knowles, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares B.O.S. Better Online Solutions and Knowles’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
B.O.S. Better Online Solutions	7.22%	12.69%	8.29%
Knowles	10.63%	11.45%	8.33%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for B.O.S. Better Online Solutions and Knowles, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
B.O.S. Better Online Solutions	0	1	1	0	2.50
Knowles	0	2	2	1	2.80

B.O.S. Better Online Solutions currently has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 68.78%. Knowles has a consensus price target of $40.67, suggesting a potential upside of 15.78%. Given B.O.S. Better Online Solutions’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe B.O.S. Better Online Solutions is more favorable than Knowles.

Summary

Knowles beats B.O.S. Better Online Solutions on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About B.O.S. Better Online Solutions

B.O.S. Better Online Solutions Ltd. provides intelligent robotics, radio frequency identification (RFID), and supply chain solutions for enterprises worldwide. The Intelligent Robotics Division provides custom-made machines for industrial automation and assembly of products and packing that offer technological solutions. The RFID Division provides hardware products, such as thermal and barcode printers; RFID and barcode scanners and readers; wireless, mobile, and forklift terminals; wireless infrastructure; active and passive RFID tags; ribbons, labels, and tags; and RFID systems for libraries. It also develops Warehouse Management System, a data collection solution for logistics management in logistic centers and warehouses; RFID-based systems for tracking inventory in a produce packing house; automatic systems for industrial packing lines; automatic systems to track the production line; and automatic systems to identify and track vehicles for transportation-related settings. In addition, this segment provides maintenance and repair services for data collection equipment, as well as warehouse and on-site service plans; on-site inventory count services in various fields; and asset tagging and counting services for corporate and governmental entities. The Supply Chain Division offers electro-mechanical components, electronics components, communications products, and components consolidation services to aerospace, defense, and other industries. This segment also provides inventory and quality control management of components entering production lines; and inventory management services for ongoing projects, including warehouse functions. The company markets its products through direct sales and sales agents, as well as through distributors. B.O.S. Better Online Solutions Ltd. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Rishon LeZion, Israel.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM). The PD segment designs and delivers film, electrolytic, and mica capacitor products for use in power supplies and medical implants; electromagnetic interference filters; and RF filtering solutions for use in satellite communications and radar systems for defense applications. The MSA segment designs and manufactures balanced armature speakers and microphones for the hearing health, audio, and True Wireless Stereo (TWS) markets. The CMM segment designs and manufactures micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones and audio solutions used in applications that serve the ear, mobile, TWS, Internet of Things, computing, and smartphones markets. The company serves the defense, medtech, electric vehicle, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics markets through original equipment manufacturers, their contract manufacturers, suppliers, sales representatives, and distributors. Knowles Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois.