Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU – Get Free Report) and ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH – Get Free Report) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
20.8% of Spruce Power shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.8% of ESS Tech shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.7% of Spruce Power shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of ESS Tech shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Spruce Power and ESS Tech, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Spruce Power | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| ESS Tech | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Spruce Power and ESS Tech”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Spruce Power | $82.11 million | 0.92 | -$70.49 million | ($1.38) | -3.00 |
| ESS Tech | $1.58 million | 21.58 | -$63.44 million | ($4.33) | -0.29 |
ESS Tech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Spruce Power. Spruce Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ESS Tech, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Spruce Power and ESS Tech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Spruce Power | -23.23% | -18.82% | -2.86% |
| ESS Tech | -1,045.28% | -1,141.31% | -140.58% |
Risk and Volatility
Spruce Power has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESS Tech has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
ESS Tech beats Spruce Power on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Spruce Power
Spruce Power Holding Corporation owns and operates distributed solar energy assets in the United States. The company provides subscription-based services for homeowners and businesses to own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage. It offers its subscription-based services to approximately 75,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
About ESS Tech
ESS Tech, Inc., an energy storage company, designs and produces iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications worldwide. It offers energy storage products, which include Energy Warehouse, a behind-the-meter solution; and Energy Center, a front-of-the-meter solution. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon.
Receive News & Ratings for Spruce Power Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Spruce Power and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
