Financial Comparison: Fuel Tech (NASDAQ:FTEK) & Deluxe (NYSE:DLX)

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX) and Fuel Tech (NASDAQ:FTEK) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Deluxe and Fuel Tech”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Deluxe	$2.11 billion	0.51	$82.10 million	$2.25	10.38
Fuel Tech	$27.30 million	1.57	-$2.32 million	($0.11)	-12.45

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

Volatility & Risk

Deluxe has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fuel Tech has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Deluxe and Fuel Tech, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Deluxe	0	2	1	1	2.75
Fuel Tech	1	1	0	0	1.50

Deluxe presently has a consensus price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.75%. Given Deluxe’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Deluxe is more favorable than Fuel Tech.

Profitability

This table compares Deluxe and Fuel Tech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Deluxe	4.91%	23.51%	6.12%
Fuel Tech	-12.75%	-8.88%	-7.62%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.9% of Deluxe shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.9% of Fuel Tech shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Deluxe shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of Fuel Tech shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Deluxe beats Fuel Tech on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Deluxe

Deluxe Corporation provides technology-enabled solutions to enterprises, small businesses, and financial institutions in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It operates through Merchant Services, B2B Payments, Data Solutions, and Print segments. The Merchant Services offers credit and debit card authorization and payment systems, as well as processing services primarily to small and medium-sized retail and service businesses. The B2B Payments segment provides treasury management solutions, including remittance and lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, automated receivables management, payment processing, and cash application, as well as automated payables management, such as medical payment and deluxe payment exchange. The Data solutions segment offers data-driven marketing solutions, financial institution profitability reporting, and business incorporation services. The Print segment provides printed personal and business checks, printed business forms, business accessories, and promotional products. It sells through multi-channel sales and marketing, and scalable partnerships. The company was formerly known as Deluxe Check Printers, Incorporated and changed its name to Deluxe Corporation in 1988. Deluxe Corporation was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Fuel Tech

Fuel Tech, Inc. provides boiler optimization, efficiency improvement, and air pollution reduction and control solutions to utility and industrial customers worldwide. The company operates through Air Pollution Control Technology and FUEL CHEM Technology segments. The Air Pollution Control Technology segment offers technologies to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in flue gas from boilers, incinerators, furnaces, and other stationary combustion sources; NOxOUT and HERT selective non-catalytic reduction systems; selective catalytic reduction systems comprising ammonia injection grid, and graduated straightening grid systems; I-NOx systems; ESP Processes and Services; ULTRA technology; and flue gas conditioning systems. The FUEL CHEM Technology segment provides programs to improve the efficiency, reliability, fuel flexibility, boiler heat rate, and environmental status of combustion units by controlling slagging, fouling, corrosion, opacity, and acid plume, as well as the formation of sulfur trioxide, ammonium bisulfate, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide through the addition of chemicals into the furnace using TIFI targeted in-furnace injection technology. This segment offers its FUEL CHEM program for plants operating in the electric utility, industrial, pulp and paper, waste-to-energy, and university and district heating markets; and the owners of boilers, furnaces, and other combustion units. Fuel Tech, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Warrenville, Illinois.