Critical Analysis: RF Industries (NASDAQ:RFIL) vs. Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX)

RF Industries (NASDAQ:RFIL) and Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

23.5% of RF Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.3% of Flex shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.4% of RF Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Flex shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for RF Industries and Flex, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RF Industries	0	2	2	0	2.50
Flex	0	2	8	2	3.00

RF Industries presently has a consensus price target of $14.50, indicating a potential upside of 100.55%. Flex has a consensus price target of $131.78, indicating a potential upside of 73.19%. Given RF Industries’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe RF Industries is more favorable than Flex.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares RF Industries and Flex”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RF Industries	$80.59 million	0.97	$80,000.00	$0.22	32.86
Flex	$27.91 billion	1.01	$880.00 million	$2.77	27.47

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

Risk & Volatility

RF Industries has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Flex has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares RF Industries and Flex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RF Industries	2.83%	15.32%	7.80%
Flex	3.35%	24.93%	5.63%

Summary

Flex beats RF Industries on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RF Industries

RF Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: RFIL) designs, manufactures and markets connectivity products used in wireless communications, telecommunications and related electronic infrastructure applications. Its offerings support the installation, connection and distribution of radio-frequency signals across cellular, broadband, public-safety and other communications networks. The company’s products include RF connectors and adapters, coaxial cable assemblies, RF components, power-distribution equipment, cell-site accessories, enclosures and other network-infrastructure products.

About Flex

Flex Ltd. is a global manufacturing and supply-chain services company that works with businesses to design, engineer, manufacture and support products. Its services include product development, sourcing, production, logistics and after-market support. The company serves a range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, industrial, lifestyle and communications, as well as cloud and data-center markets. Its work spans products and systems such as medical devices, vehicle components, industrial equipment and technology infrastructure.