Financial Contrast: Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) and PC Connection (NASDAQ:CNXN)

PC Connection (NASDAQ:CNXN) and Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.8% of PC Connection shares are owned by institutional investors. 56.6% of PC Connection shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.6% of Acorn Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

PC Connection has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acorn Energy has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for PC Connection and Acorn Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PC Connection	0	1	1	0	2.50
Acorn Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares PC Connection and Acorn Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PC Connection	$2.87 billion	0.81	$83.72 million	$3.78	24.49
Acorn Energy	$11.48 million	4.23	$2.51 million	$0.61	31.72

PC Connection has higher revenue and earnings than Acorn Energy. PC Connection is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acorn Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares PC Connection and Acorn Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PC Connection	3.21%	10.90%	7.29%
Acorn Energy	16.12%	10.06%	6.32%

Summary

PC Connection beats Acorn Energy on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PC Connection

PC Connection, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of information technology (IT) solutions. The company operates through three segments: Business Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, and Public Sector Solutions. It offers IT products, such as computer systems, software and peripheral equipment, networking communications, and other products and accessories. The company also provides services comprising design, configuration, and implementation of IT solutions. In addition, publishes Connected, a quarterly publication that provides informative articles on the latest technologies and industry trends; distributes specialty catalogs to education, healthcare, and government customers; and MacConnection that publishes a catalog for the Apple market. The company markets its products and services through its Websites, such as connection.com, connection.com/enterprise, connection.com/publicsector, and macconnection.com. It serves small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) comprising small office/home offices customers; government and educational institutions; and medium-to-large corporate accounts through outbound telemarketing and field sales and marketing programs targeted to specific customer populations, as well as through digital, Web, and print media advertising. PC Connection, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

About Acorn Energy

Acorn Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and markets wireless remote monitoring and control systems for various markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Power Generation (PG) Monitoring and Cathodic Protection (CP) Monitoring. The PG segment provides wireless remote monitoring and control systems, and services for critical assets, which include stand-by power generators, compressors, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers, turbines, and other industrial equipment; and Internet of Things applications. The CP segment offers remote monitoring of cathodic protection systems on gas pipelines for gas utilities and pipeline companies. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.