ESCO Technologies (ESE) Competitors

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

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FELE or ESE?

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

Which has preferable earnings & 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	2.10	$180.31M	$3.82	24.32
ESCO Technologies	$1.03B	4.93	$101.88M	$4.56	43.01

Does the media favor FELE or ESE?

In the previous week, ESCO Technologies had 3 more articles in the media than Franklin Electric. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for ESCO Technologies and 3 mentions for Franklin Electric. Franklin Electric's average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat ESCO Technologies' score of 0.84 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	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
ESCO Technologies	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ESCO Technologies pays out 7.0% 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 raised 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.

Which has more volatility & risk, FELE or ESE?

Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESCO Technologies has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer FELE or ESE?

Franklin Electric presently has a consensus target price of $94.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.16%. ESCO Technologies has a consensus target price of $187.50, indicating a potential downside of 4.39%. 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

Is FELE or ESE more profitable?

ESCO Technologies has a net margin of 11.01% compared to Franklin Electric's net margin of 8.85%. Franklin Electric's return on equity of 14.08% beat ESCO Technologies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Electric	8.85%	14.08%	9.72%
ESCO Technologies	11.01%	10.56%	7.20%

Summary

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