Critical Review: BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) & Wrap Technologies (NASDAQ:WRAP)

Wrap Technologies (NASDAQ:WRAP) and BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Wrap Technologies and BWX Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wrap Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00
BWX Technologies	0	5	10	1	2.75

BWX Technologies has a consensus target price of $205.00, suggesting a potential upside of 49.08%. Given BWX Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe BWX Technologies is more favorable than Wrap Technologies.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Wrap Technologies and BWX Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wrap Technologies	$6.06 million	12.62	-$10.34 million	($0.27)	-5.06
BWX Technologies	$3.51 billion	3.59	$328.95 million	$3.86	35.62

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

Profitability

This table compares Wrap Technologies and BWX Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wrap Technologies	-205.10%	-101.24%	-82.26%
BWX Technologies	10.11%	30.83%	9.34%

Volatility and Risk

Wrap Technologies has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BWX Technologies has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

8.8% of Wrap Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.4% of BWX Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.3% of Wrap Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of BWX Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

BWX Technologies beats Wrap Technologies on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wrap Technologies

Wrap Technologies, Inc., a public safety technology and services company, develops policing solutions to law enforcement and security personnel. The company's flagship product is BolaWrap 150, a handheld remote restraint device that discharges a seven and a half-foot Kevlar tether, entangling an individual from a range of 10-25 feet. It also offers virtual reality training system, a law enforcement 3D training system employing immersive computer graphics VR with proprietary software-enabled content. It operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Tempe, Arizona.

About BWX Technologies

BWX Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells nuclear components in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Government Operations and Commercial Operations. The Government Operations segment designs and manufactures naval nuclear components, reactors, and nuclear fuel; fabrication activities; and supplies proprietary and sole-source valves, manifolds, and fittings to naval and commercial shipping customers. This segment also involved in manufacture of close-tolerance and equipment for nuclear applications; down blend government stockpiles of uranium; receives, stores, characterizes, dissolves, recovers, and purifies uranium-bearing materials; and supplies research reactor fuel elements for colleges, universities, and national laboratories, as well as components for defense applications. The Commercial Operations segment designs and manufactures commercial nuclear steam generators, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, and reactor components; and other auxiliary equipment, including containers for the storage of nuclear fuel and other high-level nuclear waste. This segment also offers nuclear fuel, fuel handling systems, tooling delivery systems, nuclear grade materials, and precisely machined components, and related services for CANDU nuclear power plants; provides in-plant inspection, maintenance, and modification services, as well as non-destructive examination and tooling/repair solutions; and manufactures medical radioisotopes, radiopharmaceuticals, and medical devices. The company was formerly known as The Babcock & Wilcox Company and changed its name to BWX Technologies, Inc. in June 2015. BWX Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia.