Comparing Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) & Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN)

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) and Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Allegion and Ituran Location and Control”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Allegion	$4.07 billion	2.83	$643.80 million	$7.32	18.30
Ituran Location and Control	$359.02 million	3.67	$57.97 million	$3.03	21.89

Allegion has higher revenue and earnings than Ituran Location and Control. Allegion is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ituran Location and Control, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Allegion pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ituran Location and Control pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.0%. Allegion pays out 30.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ituran Location and Control pays out 198.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Allegion has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years and Ituran Location and Control has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Allegion and Ituran Location and Control, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Allegion	0	9	2	1	2.33
Ituran Location and Control	0	1	4	0	2.80

Allegion presently has a consensus target price of $160.89, indicating a potential upside of 20.11%. Ituran Location and Control has a consensus target price of $60.67, indicating a potential downside of 8.52%. Given Allegion’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Allegion is more favorable than Ituran Location and Control.

Profitability

This table compares Allegion and Ituran Location and Control’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Allegion	15.24%	35.41%	13.53%
Ituran Location and Control	16.03%	27.70%	15.75%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.2% of Allegion shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Ituran Location and Control shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Allegion shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Ituran Location and Control shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Allegion has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ituran Location and Control has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Allegion beats Ituran Location and Control on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Allegion

Allegion plc manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic security products and solutions worldwide. The company offers door controls and systems and exit devices; locks, locksets, portable locks, and key systems and services; electronic security products and access control systems; time, attendance, and workforce productivity systems; doors, accessories, and other. It also provides services and software, which includes inspection, maintenance, and repair services for its automatic entrance solutions; and software as a service, including access control, IoT integration, and workforce management solutions, as well as aftermarket services, design and installation offerings, and locksmith services. The company sells its products and solutions to end-users in commercial, institutional, and residential facilities, including education, healthcare, government, hospitality, retail, commercial office, and single and multi-family residential markets under the CISA, Interflex, LCN, Schlage, SimonsVoss, and Von Duprin brands. It sells its products and solutions through distribution and retail channels, such as specialty distribution, e-commerce, and wholesalers, as well as through various retail channels comprising do-it-yourself home improvement centers, online and e-commerce platforms, and small specialty showroom outlets. Allegion plc was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides location based telematics services and machine-to-machine telematics products. It operates through two segments, Telematics Services and Telematics Products. The Telematics services segment offers stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, which enables to locate, track, and recover stolen vehicles for its subscribers; fleet management services that enable corporate and individual customers to track and manage their vehicles in real time; and locator services that allow customers to protect valuable merchandise and equipment. This segment also delivers on-demand navigation guidance, information, and assistance, including the provision of traffic reports and directions, as well as information on the location of gas stations, car repair shops, post offices, hospitals, and other facilities; and Connected Car, a service platform that includes a back-office application, a telematics device installed in the vehicle, mobile apps for IOS and Android users, and interface using the car infotainment screen, as well as usage based insurance and auto financing services. This segment serves insurance companies and agents, car manufacturers, dealers and importers, cooperative sales channels, and private subscribers. The Telematics Products segment offers Base Site, a radio receiver that includes a processor and a data computation unit to collect and send data to and from transponders, and to control centers; Control Center, a center consisting of software used to collect data from various base sites, conduct location calculations, and transmit location data to various customers and law enforcement agencies; navigation and tracking devices installed in vehicles; and SMART, a portable transmitter installed in vehicles that sends a signal to the base site enabling the location of vehicles, equipment, or an individual. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Azor, Israel.