TransAct Technologies (NASDAQ:TACT) and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Critical Survey

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and TransAct Technologies (NASDAQ:TACT) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Western Digital has a beta of 2.11, indicating that its stock price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransAct Technologies has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Western Digital and TransAct Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Digital	$12.92 billion	11.40	$9.42 billion	$24.21	16.25
TransAct Technologies	$51.48 million	0.92	-$1.24 million	($0.04)	-114.75

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.5% of Western Digital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.5% of TransAct Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Western Digital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.2% of TransAct Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Western Digital and TransAct Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Digital	72.95%	48.15%	25.79%
TransAct Technologies	-0.75%	-1.25%	-0.85%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Western Digital and TransAct Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Digital	0	6	18	1	2.80
TransAct Technologies	1	1	0	0	1.50

Western Digital presently has a consensus price target of $534.56, indicating a potential upside of 35.91%. Given Western Digital’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Western Digital is more favorable than TransAct Technologies.

Summary

Western Digital beats TransAct Technologies on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications. The company also provides enterprise HDDs; enterprise SSDs consisting of flash-based SSDs and software solutions for use in enterprise servers, online transactions, data analysis, and other enterprise applications; and data storage platforms. In addition, it offers external HDD storage products in mobile and desktop form; client portable SSDs; removable cards that are used in consumer devices comprising mobile phones, tablets, imaging systems, and cameras and smart video systems; universal serial bus flash drives for use in the computing and consumer markets; and wireless drive products used in-field backup of created content, as well as wireless streaming of high-definition movies, photos, music, and documents to tablets, smartphones, and PCs. The company sells its products under the Western Digital, SanDisk, and WD brands to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, dealers, resellers, and retailers. Western Digital Corporation was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About TransAct Technologies

TransAct Technologies Incorporated designs, develops, and markets transaction-based and specialty printers and terminals in the United States and internationally. It offers thermal printers and terminals to generate labels, coupons, and transaction records, such as receipts, tickets, and other documents. The company also provides consumable products, including POS receipt paper, inkjet cartridges, ribbons, and other printing supplies, as well as replacement parts and accessories; and maintenance and repair services. In addition, it offers EPICENTRAL print system, a software solution that enables casino operators to create promotional coupons and marketing messages, and print them at the slot machine; and technical support services, as well as spare parts and accessories. Further, the company provides BOHA! terminal that combines hardware and software components in a device that includes an operating system, touchscreen, and one or two thermal print mechanisms. It markets its products under the TransAct, BOHA!, AccuDate, Ithaca, and EPICENTRAL brands for food service technology, point of sale automation, and casino and gaming markets. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and distributors, as well as directly to end-users through its Webstore transactsupplies.com. TransAct Technologies Incorporated was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Hamden, Connecticut.