Analyzing Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) and Energous (NASDAQ:WATT)

Energous (NASDAQ:WATT) and Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Energous and Franklin Electric, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energous	1	0	0	0	1.00
Franklin Electric	0	2	0	0	2.00

Franklin Electric has a consensus price target of $112.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.31%. Given Franklin Electric’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Franklin Electric is more favorable than Energous.

Profitability

This table compares Energous and Franklin Electric’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energous	-1.27%	-143.13%	-93.47%
Franklin Electric	6.71%	14.24%	9.46%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.4% of Energous shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.0% of Franklin Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Energous shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Franklin Electric shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Energous has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Energous and Franklin Electric”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energous	$770,000.00	13.84	-$18.40 million	($18.13)	-0.27
Franklin Electric	$2.11 billion	2.07	$180.31 million	$3.07	31.92

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

Summary

Franklin Electric beats Energous on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Energous

Energous Corporation provides wireless charging system solutions in the United States. The company develops WattUp wireless power networks technology that consists of semiconductor chipsets; software controls; hardware designs; and antennas that enables radio frequency-based charging for Internet of Things devices. Its products are used in asset trackers; sensors; retail displays; and security devices; smart home; medical; industrial; and other sensors; electronic shelf labeling; logistics and asset tracking tags and sensors; computer mice and keyboards; remote controls; gaming consoles and controllers; hearing aids; rechargeable batteries; automotive accessories; smart textiles; wearables; and medical devices. The company was formerly known as DvineWave Inc. and changed its name to Energous Corporation in January 2014. Energous Corporation was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in San Jose; California.

About Franklin Electric

Franklin Electric Co., Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and distributes water and fuel pumping systems worldwide. The company operates through Water Systems, Fueling Systems, and Distribution segments. The Water Systems segment offers submersible motors, drives, pumps, electronic controls, water treatment systems, monitoring devices, and related parts and equipment. Its motors and pumps are used principally for pumping clean water and wastewater in various residential, agricultural, municipal, and industrial applications; and manufactures electronic drives and controls that are used in motors for controlling functionality, as well as provides protection from various hazards, such as electrical surges, over-heating, and dry wells or tanks. The Fueling Systems segment provides pumps, pipes, sumps, fittings, vapor recovery components, electronic controls, monitoring devices, and related parts and equipment primarily for use in fueling system applications. This segment serves other energy markets, such as power reliability systems, as well as includes electronic devices for online monitoring of the power utility, hydroelectric, and telecommunication and data center infrastructure. The Distribution segment sells to and provides presale support and specifications to the installing contractors. It sells products produced by the Water Systems segment. The company sells its products to wholesale and retail distributors, specialty distributors, original equipment manufacturers, industrial and petroleum equipment distributors, and oil and utility companies through its employee sales force and independent manufacturing representatives. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.