Energous (NASDAQ:WATT) vs. United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Head to Head Contrast

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) and Energous (NASDAQ:WATT) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares United Microelectronics and Energous”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Microelectronics	$250.71 billion	0.24	$1.29 billion	$1.07	22.72
Energous	$5.63 million	13.70	-$9.59 million	($2.21)	-6.31

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for United Microelectronics and Energous, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Microelectronics	3	1	1	1	2.00
Energous	1	1	0	0	1.50

United Microelectronics presently has a consensus price target of $8.60, indicating a potential downside of 64.63%. Given United Microelectronics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe United Microelectronics is more favorable than Energous.

Profitability

This table compares United Microelectronics and Energous’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Microelectronics	33.18%	21.00%	13.87%
Energous	-76.37%	-28.67%	-24.91%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

5.1% of United Microelectronics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.3% of Energous shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of United Microelectronics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Energous shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

United Microelectronics has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Energous has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

United Microelectronics beats Energous on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers. United Microelectronics Corporation was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.

About Energous

Energous Corporation provides wireless charging system solutions in the United States. The company develops WattUp wireless power networks technology that consists of semiconductor chipsets; software controls; hardware designs; and antennas that enables radio frequency-based charging for Internet of Things devices. Its products are used in asset trackers; sensors; retail displays; and security devices; smart home; medical; industrial; and other sensors; electronic shelf labeling; logistics and asset tracking tags and sensors; computer mice and keyboards; remote controls; gaming consoles and controllers; hearing aids; rechargeable batteries; automotive accessories; smart textiles; wearables; and medical devices. The company was formerly known as DvineWave Inc. and changed its name to Energous Corporation in January 2014. Energous Corporation was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in San Jose; California.