Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) and PC Connection (NASDAQ:CNXN) Head-To-Head Survey

Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) and PC Connection (NASDAQ:CNXN) are both technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Acorn Energy and PC Connection, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acorn Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00
PC Connection	0	0	1	1	3.50

Dividends

Acorn Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. PC Connection pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Acorn Energy pays out 23.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. PC Connection pays out 21.2% 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. PC Connection has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. PC Connection is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.8% of PC Connection shares are held by institutional investors. 35.6% of Acorn Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 56.6% of PC Connection shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Acorn Energy and PC Connection’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acorn Energy	16.12%	10.06%	6.32%
PC Connection	3.21%	10.90%	7.29%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Acorn Energy and PC Connection”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acorn Energy	$9.57 million	5.20	$2.51 million	$0.61	32.53
PC Connection	$2.87 billion	0.79	$83.72 million	$3.78	23.67

PC Connection has higher revenue and earnings than Acorn Energy. PC Connection is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acorn Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Acorn Energy has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PC Connection has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

PC Connection beats Acorn Energy on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acorn Energy

Acorn Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and markets wireless remote monitoring and control systems for various markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Power Generation (PG) Monitoring and Cathodic Protection (CP) Monitoring. The PG segment provides wireless remote monitoring and control systems, and services for critical assets, which include stand-by power generators, compressors, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers, turbines, and other industrial equipment; and Internet of Things applications. The CP segment offers remote monitoring of cathodic protection systems on gas pipelines for gas utilities and pipeline companies. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

About PC Connection

PC Connection, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of information technology (IT) solutions. The company operates through three segments: Business Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, and Public Sector Solutions. It offers IT products, such as computer systems, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories. The company also provides services comprising design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. In addition, publishes Connected, a quarterly publication that provides informative articles on the latest technologies and industry trends; distributes specialty catalogs to education, healthcare, and government customers; and MacConnection that publishes a catalog for the Apple market. The company markets its products and services through its Websites, such as connection.com, connection.com/enterprise, connection.com/publicsector, and macconnection.com. It serves small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) comprising small office/home offices customers; government and educational institutions; and medium-to-large corporate accounts through outbound telemarketing and field sales and marketing programs targeted to specific customer populations, as well as through digital, Web, and print media advertising. PC Connection, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire.