ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) and Fanuc (OTCMKTS:FANUY) Head-To-Head Analysis

Fanuc (OTCMKTS:FANUY) and ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fanuc and ESCO Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fanuc	$5.70 billion	6.55	$1.10 billion	$0.62	30.64
ESCO Technologies	$1.29 billion	5.27	$299.22 million	$12.14	21.63

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

Risk and Volatility

Fanuc has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESCO Technologies has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Fanuc and ESCO Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fanuc	20.11%	9.60%	8.65%
ESCO Technologies	24.39%	13.28%	8.69%

Dividends

Fanuc pays an annual dividend of $0.21 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 0.1%. Fanuc pays out 33.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ESCO Technologies pays out 2.6% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.5% of Fanuc shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.7% of ESCO Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of ESCO Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Fanuc and ESCO Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fanuc	0	2	0	1	2.67
ESCO Technologies	0	1	3	1	3.00

ESCO Technologies has a consensus price target of $416.50, indicating a potential upside of 58.65%. Given ESCO Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ESCO Technologies is more favorable than Fanuc.

Summary

ESCO Technologies beats Fanuc on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fanuc

FANUC Corporation provides factory automation products in Japan, the Americas, Europe, China, the rest of Asia, and internationally. The company offers CNC series products, servo motors, lasers, robots, compact machining centers, electric injection molding machines, wire electrical discharge machines, and ultra-precision machines. It also provides FANUC intelligent edge link and drive system, an open platform for the manufacturing industry. FANUC Corporation was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Yamanashi, Japan.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc. produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines. It also designs, develops, and manufactures elastomeric-based signature reduction solutions for U.S. naval vessels; and mission-critical bushings, pins, sleeves, and precision-tolerance machined components for landing gear, rotor heads, engine mounts, flight controls, and actuation systems for the aerospace and defense industries. The Utility Solutions Group segment provides diagnostic testing solutions that enable electric power grid operators to assess the integrity of high-voltage power delivery equipment; and decision support tools for the renewable energy industry, primarily wind and solar. The RF Test & Measurement segment designs and manufactures RF test and secure communication facilities, acoustic test enclosures, RF and magnetically shielded rooms, RF measurement systems, and broadcast and recording studios; and RF absorptive materials, filters, antennas, field probes, test cells, proprietary measurement software, and other test accessories to perform various tests. The company distributes its products through a network of distributors, sales representatives, direct sales teams, and in-house sales personnel. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Saint Louis, Missouri.