Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) & Advantest (OTCMKTS:ATEYY) Head-To-Head Analysis

Camtek (NASDAQ:CAMT) and Advantest (OTCMKTS:ATEYY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Camtek has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advantest has a beta of 1.6, indicating that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Camtek and Advantest’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Camtek	28.40%	24.57%	15.09%
Advantest	19.95%	29.15%	18.39%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.9% of Camtek shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Advantest shares are held by institutional investors. 79.4% of Camtek shares are held 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.

Dividends

Camtek pays an annual dividend of $1.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Advantest pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Camtek pays out 51.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Advantest pays out 16.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Camtek and Advantest”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Camtek	$450.86 million	9.33	$118.51 million	$2.61	35.35
Advantest	$5.12 billion	10.63	$1.06 billion	$1.22	60.43

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Camtek and Advantest, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Camtek	0	1	9	1	3.00
Advantest	0	1	0	0	2.00

Camtek currently has a consensus price target of $89.70, indicating a potential downside of 2.77%. Given Camtek’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Camtek is more favorable than Advantest.

Summary

Camtek beats Advantest on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Camtek

Camtek Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells inspection and metrology equipment for semiconductor industry. The company provides Eagle-i, a system that delivers 2D inspection and metrology capabilities; Eagle-AP, which addresses the advanced packaging market using software and hardware technologies that deliver superior 2D and 3D inspection and metrology capabilities on the same platform; and Golden Eagle, a panel inspection and metrology system to address the challenges fanout wafer level packaging applications. It also develops automatic defect classification, which provides automatic defect classification of color images utilizing deep learning techniques to reduce and eliminate manual verification. In addition, the company offers MicroProf AP, a wafer metrology tool for applications at 3D packaging process steps; MicroProf DI, an optical inspection tool that enables inspection of structured and unstructured wafers for manufacturing process; MicroProf FE, a 2D/3D wafer metrology tool that serve front end HVM fab; MicroProf FS, an wafer metrology tool configurable for wafer foundry; MicroProf PT for hybrid metrology applications to common panel sizes; MicroProf MHU metrology tool, a material handling unit for semiconductor, MEMS, sapphire, and LED industries; MicroProf TL, an optical surface measurement tool for fully automatic 3D surface measurements; MicroProf 100, a universal surface metrology tool for determination of topography and film and sample thickness; MicroProf 200, a measuring device for contactless and non-destructive characterization of surfaces and films; and MicroProf 300, a SurfaceSens technology for quality assurance, development, and manufacturing. It serves semiconductor manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test, integrated device manufacturers, and wafer level packaging subcontractors. Camtek Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Migdal Haemek, Israel.

About Advantest

Advantest Corporation manufactures and sells semiconductors, component test system products, and mechatronics related products in Japan, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor and Component Test System; Mechatronics Related Business; and Services, Support and Others. The Semiconductor and Component Test System segment provides customers with test system products for the semiconductor industry and the electronic parts industry, as well as offers test systems for SoC semiconductor devices, and test systems for memory semiconductors devices. The Mechatronics Related Business segment provides test handlers; mechatronic-applied products for handling semiconductor devices; and device interfaces, which serve as interfaces with the devices that are measured, as well as nano-technology related products. The Services, Support and Others segment provides test solutions of system level testing customer solutions for the semiconductor and modules, and support services. This segment is also involved in the sale of consumables and used products, and equipment lease and other businesses. It also engages in the research and development activities and provides maintenance and support services. The company was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.