ESCO Technologies (ESE) Competitors

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) and ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Is FELE or ESE more profitable?

ESCO Technologies has a net margin of 10.37% compared to Franklin Electric's net margin of 8.71%. Franklin Electric's return on equity of 14.05% beat ESCO Technologies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Electric	8.71%	14.05%	9.47%
ESCO Technologies	10.37%	11.19%	7.12%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in FELE or ESE?

80.0% of Franklin Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.7% of ESCO Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Franklin Electric shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of ESCO Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, FELE or ESE?

Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESCO Technologies has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FELE or ESE a better dividend stock?

Franklin Electric pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. ESCO Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Franklin Electric pays out 27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ESCO Technologies pays out 7.2% 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. Franklin Electric has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years. Franklin Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer FELE or ESE?

In the previous week, Franklin Electric had 3 more articles in the media than ESCO Technologies. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Franklin Electric and 8 mentions for ESCO Technologies. Franklin Electric's average media sentiment score of 1.70 beat ESCO Technologies' score of 1.25 indicating that Franklin Electric is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Franklin Electric	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
ESCO Technologies	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate FELE or ESE?

Franklin Electric presently has a consensus price target of $107.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.07%. ESCO Technologies has a consensus price target of $187.50, suggesting a potential downside of 9.98%. Given Franklin Electric's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Franklin Electric is more favorable than ESCO Technologies.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Electric	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
ESCO Technologies	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has higher earnings and valuation, FELE or ESE?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Franklin Electric	$2.02B	2.08	$180.31M	$3.87	24.45
ESCO Technologies	$1.03B	5.24	$101.88M	$4.44	46.91

Summary

Franklin Electric beats ESCO Technologies on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.