Knowles (NYSE:KN – Get Free Report) and B.O.S. Better Online Solutions (NASDAQ:BOSC – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Knowles and B.O.S. Better Online Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Knowles | $635.00 million | 4.79 | $44.20 million | $0.77 | 46.26 |
| B.O.S. Better Online Solutions | $50.57 million | 0.66 | $3.61 million | $0.52 | 9.08 |
Volatility & Risk
Knowles has a beta of 1.59, indicating that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, B.O.S. Better Online Solutions has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Knowles and B.O.S. Better Online Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Knowles | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2.80 |
| B.O.S. Better Online Solutions | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Knowles presently has a consensus price target of $40.67, suggesting a potential upside of 14.16%. B.O.S. Better Online Solutions has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 69.49%. Given B.O.S. Better Online Solutions’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe B.O.S. Better Online Solutions is more favorable than Knowles.
Profitability
This table compares Knowles and B.O.S. Better Online Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Knowles | 10.63% | 11.45% | 8.33% |
| B.O.S. Better Online Solutions | 7.22% | 12.69% | 8.29% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
96.3% of Knowles shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.1% of B.O.S. Better Online Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Knowles shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of B.O.S. Better Online Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Knowles beats B.O.S. Better Online Solutions on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About B.O.S. Better Online Solutions
B.O.S. Better Online Solutions Ltd. provides intelligent robotics, radio frequency identification (RFID), and supply chain solutions for enterprises worldwide. The Intelligent Robotics Division provides custom-made machines for industrial automation and assembly of products and packing that offer technological solutions. The RFID Division provides hardware products, such as thermal and barcode printers; RFID and barcode scanners and readers; wireless, mobile, and forklift terminals; wireless infrastructure; active and passive RFID tags; ribbons, labels, and tags; and RFID systems for libraries. It also develops Warehouse Management System, a data collection solution for logistics management in logistic centers and warehouses; RFID-based systems for tracking inventory in a produce packing house; automatic systems for industrial packing lines; automatic systems to track the production line; and automatic systems to identify and track vehicles for transportation-related settings. In addition, this segment provides maintenance and repair services for data collection equipment, as well as warehouse and on-site service plans; on-site inventory count services in various fields; and asset tagging and counting services for corporate and governmental entities. The Supply Chain Division offers electro-mechanical components, electronics components, communications products, and components consolidation services to aerospace, defense, and other industries. This segment also provides inventory and quality control management of components entering production lines; and inventory management services for ongoing projects, including warehouse functions. The company markets its products through direct sales and sales agents, as well as through distributors. B.O.S. Better Online Solutions Ltd. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Rishon LeZion, Israel.
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