Head-To-Head Survey: Knowles (NYSE:KN) and Vontier (NYSE:VNT)

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) and Knowles (NYSE:KN) are both mid-cap technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vontier and Knowles”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vontier	$3.07 billion	1.42	$406.10 million	$2.41	13.38
Knowles	$593.20 million	5.41	$44.20 million	$0.77	48.79

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

Profitability

This table compares Vontier and Knowles’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vontier	11.34%	38.57%	11.30%
Knowles	10.63%	11.45%	8.33%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.8% of Vontier shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.3% of Knowles shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Vontier shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Knowles shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Vontier has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Knowles has a beta of 1.59, indicating that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Vontier and Knowles, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vontier	1	3	4	0	2.38
Knowles	0	3	2	0	2.40

Vontier presently has a consensus price target of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.14%. Knowles has a consensus price target of $40.67, indicating a potential upside of 8.24%. Given Vontier’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Vontier is more favorable than Knowles.

Summary

Vontier beats Knowles on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vontier

Vontier Corporation provides mobility ecosystem solutions worldwide. The company operates through Mobility Technologies, Repair Solutions, and Environmental and Fueling Solutions segments. The Mobility Technologies segment provides digitally equipment solutions for mobility ecosystem, such as point-of-sale and payment systems, workflow automation, telematics, data analytics, software platform, and integrated solutions for alternative fuel dispensing. The Repair Solutions segment manufactures and distributes vehicle repair tools, toolboxes, automotive diagnostic equipment and software through mobile franchise network. The Environmental and Fueling Solutions segment offers environmental, fueling hardware, software, and aftermarket solutions for fueling infrastructures. It also offers a range of solutions, including environmental sensors; fueling equipment; field payment hardware; point-of sale, workflow, and monitoring software; vehicle tracking and fleet management; software solutions for EV charging; and vehicle mechanics, and technicians equipment. The company markets its products and services to retail and commercial fueling, convenience store, and car wash operators; commercial vehicle repair businesses, fleet owners/operators and electric vehicle charging network operators, as well as direct sales personnel and independent distributors. It serves customers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. Vontier Corporation was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About Knowles

Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM). The PD segment designs and delivers film, electrolytic, and mica capacitor products for use in power supplies and medical implants; electromagnetic interference filters; and RF filtering solutions for use in satellite communications and radar systems for defense applications. The MSA segment designs and manufactures balanced armature speakers and microphones for the hearing health, audio, and True Wireless Stereo (TWS) markets. The CMM segment designs and manufactures micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones and audio solutions used in applications that serve the ear, mobile, TWS, Internet of Things, computing, and smartphones markets. The company serves the defense, medtech, electric vehicle, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics markets through original equipment manufacturers, their contract manufacturers, suppliers, sales representatives, and distributors. Knowles Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois.