Head-To-Head Comparison: Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) & Nortech Systems (NASDAQ:NSYS)

Nortech Systems (NASDAQ:NSYS) and Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

3.1% of Nortech Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Littelfuse shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.0% of Nortech Systems shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Littelfuse shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Nortech Systems and Littelfuse’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nortech Systems	-2.25%	-7.93%	-3.56%
Littelfuse	-3.00%	10.53%	6.65%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nortech Systems and Littelfuse”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nortech Systems	$128.13 million	0.21	-$1.29 million	($0.95)	-10.05
Littelfuse	$2.39 billion	3.39	-$71.70 million	($2.90)	-112.17

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Nortech Systems and Littelfuse, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nortech Systems	1	0	0	0	1.00
Littelfuse	0	1	2	2	3.20

Littelfuse has a consensus target price of $364.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.90%. Given Littelfuse’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Littelfuse is more favorable than Nortech Systems.

Summary

Littelfuse beats Nortech Systems on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nortech Systems

Nortech Systems Incorporated provides design and manufacturing solutions for electromedical devices, electromechanical systems, assemblies, and components in the United States, Mexico, and China. It offers a range of technical and manufacturing, and support services, including project management, designing, testing, prototyping, manufacturing, supply chain management, and post-market services. The company also provides manufacturing and engineering services for medical devices, printed circuit board assemblies, wire and cable assemblies, and higher-level electromechanical assemblies. In addition, it offers engineering and repair services. The company serves original equipment manufacturers in the medical, aerospace and defense, and industrial markets through business development teams and independent manufacturers' representatives. Nortech Systems Incorporated was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

About Littelfuse

Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells electronic components, modules, and subassemblies in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. The company operates through Electronic, Transportation, and Industrial segments. The Electronics segment offers fuses and fuse accessories, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, electromechanical switches and interconnect solutions, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, varistors, reed switch based magnetic sensing products, and gas discharge tubes; and discrete transient voltage suppressor (TVS) diodes, TVS diode arrays, protection and switching thyristors, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors and diodes, and insulated gate bipolar transistors. This segment serves industrial motor drives and power conversion, automotive electronics, electric vehicle and related charging infrastructure, aerospace, power supplies, data centers, telecommunications, medical devices, alternative energy, building and home automation, appliances, and mobile electronics markets. The Transportation segment provides blade, resettable, and high-current and high-voltage fuses, as well as battery cable protectors; fuses, switches, relays, circuit breakers, and power distribution modules; and sensor products. This segment serves heavy-duty truck, construction, agriculture, material handling, and marine. The Industrial segment offers industrial fuses, protection relays, contactors, transformers, residual current devices, ground fault circuit interrupters, residual current monitors, arc fault detection devices, and temperature sensors for use in renewable energy and energy storage systems, electric vehicle infrastructure, HVAC systems, industrial safety, non-residential construction, MRO, mining, and factory automation. It sells its products through distributors, direct sales force, and manufacturers' representatives. Littelfuse, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.