Polar Power (NASDAQ:POLA – Get Free Report) and Orion Energy Systems (NASDAQ:OESX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Polar Power and Orion Energy Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Polar Power | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Orion Energy Systems | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Orion Energy Systems has a consensus target price of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 18.62%. Given Orion Energy Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Orion Energy Systems is more favorable than Polar Power.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Polar Power | $6.30 million | 0.88 | -$9.13 million | ($3.52) | -0.38 |
| Orion Energy Systems | $86.31 million | 1.20 | -$3.16 million | ($0.05) | -505.80 |
Orion Energy Systems has higher revenue and earnings than Polar Power. Orion Energy Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Polar Power, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Polar Power and Orion Energy Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Polar Power | -207.92% | -610.87% | -86.48% |
| Orion Energy Systems | 0.04% | 11.66% | 3.40% |
Volatility & Risk
Polar Power has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orion Energy Systems has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
26.1% of Polar Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of Orion Energy Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 30.8% of Polar Power shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Orion Energy Systems shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Orion Energy Systems beats Polar Power on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Polar Power
Polar Power, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells direct current (DC) power generators, renewable energy, and cooling systems in the United States and internationally. The company offers DC base power systems, DC hybrid power systems, DC solar hybrid power systems, and mobile power systems. Its DC power systems are available in diesel, natural gas, LPG/propane, and renewable fuel formats. It serves customers in the telecommunications, military, commercial, industrial, and marine markets. In addition, the company sells its products through a direct sales force, and independent service providers and dealers. The company was formerly known as Polar Products, Inc. and changed its name to Polar Power, Inc. in October 1991. Polar Power, Inc. was incorporated in 1979 and is based in Gardena, California.
About Orion Energy Systems
Orion Energy Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, researches, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, installs, and implements energy management systems for commercial office and retail, area lighting, industrial applications, and government in North America and Germany. It operates in three segments: Lighting, Maintenance, and Electric Vehicle (EV). The company offers light emitting diode (LED) lighting products; construction and engineering services for commercial lighting and energy management system; lighting and electrical system maintenance, repair, and replacement services; and EV charging station and installation solutions. It also provides LED high bay fixtures and LED troffer retrofits; smart lighting controls, a wireless Internet of Things enabled control solution that provides lighting control options and data intelligence capabilities for building managers; and various LED fixtures for lighting and energy management needs comprising fixtures for agribusinesses, parking lots, roadways, retail, mezzanine, outdoor applications, and private label resale. In addition, the company offers lighting-related energy management services, such as site assessment, site field verification, utility incentive and government subsidy management, engineering design, project management, facility design commissioning, and recycling. It serves customers directly and through independent sales agencies and distributors, national account end-users, federal and state government facilities, regional account end-users, electrical distributors, electrical contractors, and energy service companies. Orion Energy Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
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