Head-To-Head Contrast: Seiko Epson (OTCMKTS:SEKEY) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI)

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) and Seiko Epson (OTCMKTS:SEKEY) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.1% of Super Micro Computer shares are held by institutional investors. 16.1% of Super Micro Computer shares are held 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Super Micro Computer and Seiko Epson, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Super Micro Computer	2	11	4	1	2.22
Seiko Epson	0	1	0	0	2.00

Super Micro Computer presently has a consensus target price of $42.13, indicating a potential downside of 2.60%. Given Super Micro Computer’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Super Micro Computer is more favorable than Seiko Epson.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Super Micro Computer and Seiko Epson”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Super Micro Computer	$39.06 billion	0.73	$2.23 billion	$3.20	13.52
Seiko Epson	$9.39 billion	0.83	$113.84 million	$0.26	39.88

Super Micro Computer has higher revenue and earnings than Seiko Epson. Super Micro Computer is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seiko Epson, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Super Micro Computer has a beta of 2, indicating that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seiko Epson has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Super Micro Computer and Seiko Epson’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Super Micro Computer	5.71%	27.83%	9.11%
Seiko Epson	1.71%	2.97%	1.66%

Summary

Super Micro Computer beats Seiko Epson on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Super Micro Computer

Super Micro Computer, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures high performance server and storage solutions based on modular and open architecture in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. Its solutions range from complete server, storage systems, modular blade servers, blades, workstations, full racks, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management software, and security software. The company provides application-optimized server solutions, rackmount and blade servers, storage, and subsystems and accessories; and server software management solutions, such as Server Management Suite, including Supermicro Server Manager, Supermicro Power Management software, Supermicro Update Manager, SuperCloud Composer, and SuperDoctor 5. In addition, it offers server subsystems and accessories comprising server boards, chassis, power supplies, and other accessories. Further, the company provides server and storage system integration, configuration, and software upgrade and update services; and technical documentation services, as well as identifies service requirements, creates and executes project plans, and conducts verification testing and technical documentation, and training services. Additionally, it offers help desk and on-site product support services for its server and storage systems; and customer support services, including ongoing maintenance and technical support for its products. The company provides its products to enterprise data centers, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and 5G and edge computing markets. It sells its products through direct and indirect sales force, distributors, value-added resellers, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Seiko Epson

Seiko Epson Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, sells, and provides services for products in the printing solutions, visual communications, manufacturing-related and wearables, and other businesses. It operates through three segments: Printing Solutions, Visual Communications, and Manufacturing-related and Wearables segments. The Printing Solutions segment offers home and office inkjet printers, serial impact dot matrix printers, page printers, color image scanners, dry process office papermaking systems, commercial and industrial inkjet printers, inkjet printheads, printers for use in POS systems, label printers, printer consumables, and others. The Visual Communications segment provides 3LCD projectors for business, education, the home, and event; smart glasses; and others. The Manufacturing-related and Wearables segment offers wristwatches, watch movements, and others; factory automation products, industrial robots, compact injection molders, and other production systems; and crystal units, crystal oscillators, quartz sensors, and others for consumer, automotive, and industrial equipment applications. This segment also provides CMOS LSIs and other chips primarily for consumer electronics and automotive applications; and metal powders for use as raw materials in the production of electronic components, etc., as well as value-added surface finishing in a range of industrial fields. The company also sells PCs, etc. It has operations in Japan, the Philippines, the United States, Indonesia, China, and internationally. Seiko Epson Corporation was incorporated in 1942 and is headquartered in Suwa, Japan.