Contrasting Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) & Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB)

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) and Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

58.4% of Bel Fuse shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.7% of Hayward shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Bel Fuse shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hayward and Bel Fuse”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hayward	$1.15 billion	2.72	$151.57 million	$0.73	19.70
Bel Fuse	$675.46 million	5.67	$61.54 million	$4.39	68.96

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Hayward and Bel Fuse, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hayward	0	3	2	0	2.40
Bel Fuse	0	1	5	0	2.83

Hayward currently has a consensus target price of $17.50, suggesting a potential upside of 21.69%. Bel Fuse has a consensus target price of $307.25, suggesting a potential upside of 1.49%. Given Hayward’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Hayward is more favorable than Bel Fuse.

Profitability

This table compares Hayward and Bel Fuse’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hayward	13.98%	11.45%	5.77%
Bel Fuse	7.84%	12.97%	5.81%

Volatility and Risk

Hayward has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bel Fuse has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Bel Fuse beats Hayward on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of pool equipment and associated automation systems in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers pool equipment, including pumps, filters, robotics, suction and pressure cleaners, gas heaters and heat pumps, water features and landscape lighting, water sanitizers, salt chlorine generators, safety equipment, and in-floor automated cleaning systems, as well as LED illumination solutions. It sells its products through specialty distributors, retailers, and buying groups. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company’s products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries. It provides power solutions and protection products, including front-end power supplies, board-mount power products, industrial and transportation power products, external power products, and circuit protection products. The company also offers connectivity solutions, such as expanded beam fiber optic connectors, cable assemblies, and active optical devices; copper-based connectors/cable assemblies; radio frequency connectors, cable assemblies, microwave devices, and low loss cables; and ethernet, I/O, and industrial and power connectivity products. In addition, it provides magnetic solutions comprising integrated connector modules, power transformers, SMD power inductors and SMPS transformers, and ethernet discrete components. The company sells its products through direct strategic account managers, regional sales managers working with independent sales representative organizations, and authorized distributors in the United States, the People’s Republic of China, Macao, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Germany, India, Switzerland, and internationally. Bel Fuse Inc. was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in West Orange, New Jersey.