Critical Contrast: Niu Technologies (NASDAQ:NIU) vs. Holley (NYSE:HLLY)

Niu Technologies (NASDAQ:NIU) and Holley (NYSE:HLLY) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Niu Technologies and Holley”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Niu Technologies	$616.02 million	0.40	-$5.63 million	($0.08)	-39.63
Holley	$613.51 million	0.55	$19.17 million	$0.19	14.82

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

Volatility and Risk

Niu Technologies has a beta of -0.07, indicating that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Holley has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Niu Technologies and Holley’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Niu Technologies	-0.94%	-4.37%	-1.35%
Holley	3.89%	5.46%	2.09%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.1% of Niu Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.7% of Holley shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.2% of Niu Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Holley shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Niu Technologies and Holley, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Niu Technologies	1	1	0	0	1.50
Holley	0	2	4	0	2.67

Niu Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.41%. Holley has a consensus target price of $4.90, indicating a potential upside of 74.07%. Given Holley’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Holley is more favorable than Niu Technologies.

Summary

Holley beats Niu Technologies on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Niu Technologies

Niu Technologies designs, manufactures, and sells electric scooters in the People’s Republic of China, Europe, and internationally. The company offers RQi, NQi, MQi, SQi, UQi, F, and Gova series smart electric scooters, motorcycles, mopeds, and bicycles; KQi series kick-scooters; BQi series e-bikes; and Niu Aero Sports Bicycles. It also provides accessories and spare parts under the NIU brand name comprising scooter accessories, such as raincoats, gloves, knee pads, storage baskets and tail boxes, smart phone holders, backrests, and locks; lifestyle accessories, which includes T-shirts, coats, jeans, hats, bags, jewelry, notebooks, badges, key chain, and mugs; and performance upgrade components consisting of upgraded wheels, shock absorbers, brake calipers, and carbon fiber body panels. In addition, the company operates NIU app, which provides online repair request, service station locator, theft reporting, smart check, smart services, scooter status, historical riding data, and key diagnostics, as well as NIU cover, which provides insurance services. It sells and services its products through city partners and franchised stores, distributors, third-party e-commerce platforms, and its online store. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.

About Holley

Holley Inc. operates as designer, manufacturer, and marketer of automotive aftermarket products for car and truck enthusiasts in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China. Its products span various automotive platforms and sells across multiple channels. The company's performance automotive products include carburetors, fuel pumps, fuel injection systems, nitrous oxide injection systems, superchargers, exhaust headers, mufflers, distributors, ignition components, engine tuners, automotive performance plumbing products; and exhaust products, as well as shifters, converters, transmission kits, transmissions, tuners, and automotive software. It also offers brakes and brake systems, vehicle restoration parts, helmets, head and neck restraints, seat belts, fire suits, and electronic control and monitoring systems. The company sells its products under the Holley, Holley EFI, MSD, Simpson, Powerteq, Accel, and Flowmaster through DTC, E-tailer, warehouse distributor, traditional retailer, and jobber/ installer channels. Holley Inc. was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky.