Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) and FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Rockwell Automation and FuelCell Energy's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Rockwell Automation | 16.17% | 81.39% | 12.65% |
FuelCell Energy | -162.42% | -74.92% | -13.77% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings for Rockwell Automation and FuelCell Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Rockwell Automation | 3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2.25 |
FuelCell Energy | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.60 |
Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus price target of $234.4667, indicating a potential downside of 3.62%. FuelCell Energy has a consensus price target of $8.8333, indicating a potential downside of 47.86%. Given Rockwell Automation's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Rockwell Automation is more favorable than FuelCell Energy.
Volatility & Risk
Rockwell Automation has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FuelCell Energy has a beta of 5.33, indicating that its stock price is 433% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
76.2% of Rockwell Automation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.7% of FuelCell Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Rockwell Automation shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of FuelCell Energy shares are held 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.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Rockwell Automation and FuelCell Energy's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Rockwell Automation | $6.33 billion | 4.46 | $1.02 billion | $7.68 | 31.68 |
FuelCell Energy | $60.75 million | 89.90 | $-77,570,000.00 | ($1.30) | -13.03 |
Rockwell Automation has higher revenue and earnings than FuelCell Energy. FuelCell Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rockwell Automation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Rockwell Automation beats FuelCell Energy on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.