Corning (NYSE:GLW) and Alps Electric (OTCMKTS:APELY) Critical Review

Alps Electric (OTCMKTS:APELY) and Corning (NYSE:GLW) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Alps Electric has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corning has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Alps Electric pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Corning pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Alps Electric pays out 26.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Corning pays out 51.1% 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. Alps Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alps Electric and Corning”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alps Electric	$6.77 billion	0.45	$177.41 million	$1.74	16.87
Corning	$15.63 billion	8.27	$1.60 billion	$2.19	68.54

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Alps Electric and Corning, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alps Electric	0	1	0	0	2.00
Corning	0	6	12	0	2.67

Corning has a consensus target price of $176.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.59%. Given Corning’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Corning is more favorable than Alps Electric.

Profitability

This table compares Alps Electric and Corning’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alps Electric	2.64%	7.24%	4.09%
Corning	11.20%	20.09%	8.00%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Alps Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.8% of Corning shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of Alps Electric shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Corning shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Corning beats Alps Electric on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alps Electric

Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells electronic components in Japan and internationally. It operates through four segments: Components, Sensor Communication, Module Systems, and Logistics. The company’s products for the consumer, industrial equipment, and IoT markets include TACT switches, worker condition monitoring systems, HAPTIC reactor, actuator for cameras, remote monitoring system for logistics, analog meter monitoring system, resistive position sensor, pressure sensor, air environment sensor module, three-axis geomagnetic sensor, humidity sensor, and pc board mount current sensor. Its products for the automotive market comprises TACT and detector switches, Encoder, aspherical glass lens with metal holder, HAPTIC reactor, trimagic converter, current sensor, magnetic sensor, millimeter-wave sensor, GNSS module, 5G NR module, power window switch, electric shifter, sound system, cabin controller, smart door trim, electric shifter, integrated display, premium sound speakers, and customized car products. The company also provides systems development, office, and financing and leasing services, as well as transportation, storage, and forwarding services. The company was formerly known as Alps Electric Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. in January 2019. The company was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Corning

Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices. Its Optical Communications segment provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, such as cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories for the telecommunications industry, businesses, governments, and individuals. The company's Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that offer material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, and software, as well as glass wafers and substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products for various markets comprising mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables, aerospace and defense optics, radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. Its Environmental Technologies segment provides ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications. The company's Life Sciences segment offers laboratory products, including consumables, such as plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware, and glassware and equipment under the Corning, Pyrex, Falcon, and Axygen brands. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989. Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York.