Electrovaya (NASDAQ:ELVA) and Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Head-To-Head Analysis

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) and Electrovaya (NASDAQ:ELVA) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.2% of Acuity shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Electrovaya shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Acuity shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Acuity and Electrovaya”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acuity	$4.35 billion	2.06	$396.60 million	$15.08	19.83
Electrovaya	$63.83 million	4.99	$3.36 million	$0.11	58.45

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

Profitability

This table compares Acuity and Electrovaya’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acuity	10.25%	20.26%	12.21%
Electrovaya	6.14%	7.96%	4.54%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Acuity and Electrovaya, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acuity	0	5	4	0	2.44
Electrovaya	0	2	3	1	2.83

Acuity presently has a consensus target price of $392.17, indicating a potential upside of 31.16%. Electrovaya has a consensus target price of $17.50, indicating a potential upside of 172.16%. Given Electrovaya’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Electrovaya is more favorable than Acuity.

Risk and Volatility

Acuity has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Electrovaya has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Acuity beats Electrovaya on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acuity

Acuity Brands, Inc. provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch. This segment serves electrical distributors, retail home improvement centers, electric utilities, national accounts, original equipment manufacturers, digital retailers, lighting showrooms, and energy service companies. The ISG segment offers building management solutions, such as products for controlling heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, shades, refrigeration, and building access that deliver end-to-end optimization of those building systems; and building management software that enhances building system management and automates labor intensive tasks. This segment serves system integrators, as well as retail stores, airports, and enterprise campuses. The company offers its products and solutions under the Atrius, Distech Controls, and KE2 Therm Solutions brands. Acuity Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Electrovaya

Electrovaya Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of lithium-ion batteries, battery management systems, and battery-related products for energy storage, clean electric transportation, and other specialized applications in North America. It offers lithium-ion batteries and systems for materials handling electric vehicles, including forklifts and automated guided vehicles, as well as battery chargers to charge the batteries; electromotive power products for electric trucks, electric buses, and other transportation applications; industrial products for energy storage; and power solutions, such as competencies in building systems for third parties. The company was formerly known as Electrofuel Inc. and changed its name to Electrovaya Inc. in March 2002. Electrovaya Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.