Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) and Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
82.6% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.0% of Silicon Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Silicon Laboratories shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Kulicke and Soffa Industries and Silicon Laboratories' revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Kulicke and Soffa Industries | $623.18 million | 4.99 | $52.30 million | $0.95 | 52.73 |
| Silicon Laboratories | $837.55 million | 8.52 | $19.26 million | $2.15 | 75.60 |
Kulicke and Soffa Industries has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Silicon Laboratories. Kulicke and Soffa Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Silicon Laboratories, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Silicon Laboratories has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Kulicke and Soffa Industries and Silicon Laboratories' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Kulicke and Soffa Industries | 8.39% | 7.92% | 5.53% |
| Silicon Laboratories | 1.54% | 7.34% | 4.44% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Kulicke and Soffa Industries and Silicon Laboratories, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Kulicke and Soffa Industries | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Silicon Laboratories | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2.64 |
Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus target price of $46.3333, suggesting a potential downside of 7.50%. Silicon Laboratories has a consensus target price of $156.90, suggesting a potential downside of 3.46%. Given Silicon Laboratories' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Silicon Laboratories is more favorable than Kulicke and Soffa Industries.
Summary
Silicon Laboratories beats Kulicke and Soffa Industries on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
