Financial Contrast: PowerFleet (NASDAQ:AIOT) and Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY)

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) and PowerFleet (NASDAQ:AIOT) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Bentley Systems and PowerFleet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bentley Systems	18.10%	28.43%	9.69%
PowerFleet	-4.16%	0.48%	0.24%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.2% of Bentley Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.4% of PowerFleet shares are held by institutional investors. 20.3% of Bentley Systems shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of PowerFleet shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bentley Systems and PowerFleet”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bentley Systems	$1.50 billion	7.71	$277.86 million	$0.91	43.78
PowerFleet	$443.78 million	0.79	-$20.55 million	($0.14)	-18.57

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

Volatility and Risk

Bentley Systems has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PowerFleet has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Bentley Systems and PowerFleet, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bentley Systems	0	5	10	0	2.67
PowerFleet	1	2	3	0	2.33

Bentley Systems currently has a consensus price target of $44.77, suggesting a potential upside of 12.37%. PowerFleet has a consensus price target of $7.40, suggesting a potential upside of 184.62%. Given PowerFleet’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PowerFleet is more favorable than Bentley Systems.

Summary

Bentley Systems beats PowerFleet on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides infrastructure engineering software solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers open modeling engineering applications, such as MicroStation, OpenBridge, OpenBuildings, OpenCities, OpenComms, OpenFlows, OpenPlant, OpenRail, OpenRoads, OpenSite, OpenTower, OpenTunnel, OpenUtilities, and OpenWindowPower; and open simulation engineering applications, including ADINA, AutoPIPE, CUBE, DYNAMEQ, EMME, LEGION, Power Line Systems, RAM, SACS, SPIDA, and STAAD; and geoprofessional applications for modeling and simulation of near and deep subsurface conditions, including AGS, Central, GeoStudio, Imago, Leapfrog, MX Deposit, Oasis montaj, OpenGround, and PLAXIS. It also provides infrastructure cloud applications, such as ProjectWise, SYNCHRO, and AssetWise, as well as iTwin platform that enables users to create and curate cloud native 4D/5D digital representations of physical infrastructure assets consisting of iTwin Capture, iTwin Experience, and iTwin IoT platforms. The company serves civil, structural, geotechnical, subsurface, process engineers, architects, geospatial professionals, city and regional planners, contractors, fabricators, and operations and maintenance engineers. Bentley Systems, Incorporated was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

About PowerFleet

PowerFleet, Inc. engages in the provision of fleet management solutions for logistics, industrial, and vehicles. It offers wireless Internet of Things and machine to machine solutions for securing, controlling, tracking, and managing enterprise assets such as industrial trucks, tractor trailers, containers, cargo, and vehicle and truck fleets. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Israel, and Other. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, NJ.