Reviewing Productivt Tech (OTCMKTS:PRAC) and Ferguson (NYSE:FERG)

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) and Productivt Tech (OTCMKTS:PRAC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.0% of Ferguson shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Ferguson shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.1% of Productivt Tech shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Ferguson has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Productivt Tech has a beta of 630.35, indicating that its stock price is 62,935% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ferguson and Productivt Tech, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ferguson	0	6	11	2	2.79
Productivt Tech	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ferguson presently has a consensus target price of $253.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.72%. Given Ferguson’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Ferguson is more favorable than Productivt Tech.

Dividends

Ferguson pays an annual dividend of $3.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Productivt Tech pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 644.4%. Ferguson pays out 36.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Ferguson and Productivt Tech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ferguson	6.28%	35.73%	11.82%
Productivt Tech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ferguson and Productivt Tech”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ferguson	$31.16 billion	1.65	$1.86 billion	$9.90	26.54
Productivt Tech	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ferguson has higher revenue and earnings than Productivt Tech.

Summary

Ferguson beats Productivt Tech on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ferguson

Ferguson Enterprises Inc. distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers. It also supplies specialist water and wastewater treatment products to residential, commercial, and infrastructure contractors, as well as supplies pipe, valves, and fittings solutions to industrial customers. In addition, it offers customized solutions, such as virtual design, fabrication, valve actuation, pre-assembly, kitting, installation, and project management services, as well as after-sales support that comprises warranty, credit, project-based billing, returns and maintenance, and repair and operations support. The company sells its products through a network of distribution centers, branches, counter service and specialist sales associates, showroom consultants, and e-commerce channels. Ferguson Enterprises Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia.

About Productivt Tech

Productivity Technologies Corp., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells automated industrial systems, industrial machinery and equipment, and custom electrical control panels. The company offers quick die change, press automation, flexible transfer, and stacking/destacking equipment used to automate automotive and other metal stamping operations. In addition, the company engages in the design, manufacture, and installation of custom electrical control panels primarily for use in production machinery and machine tools utilized in automotive, adhesive and sealant, food processing, and other industrial applications. It sells its products to automobile and automotive parts manufacturers, appliance manufacturers, and steel service centers, as well as manufacturers of lawn and garden equipment, office furniture, heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, and large construction equipment in the United States and internationally. Productivity Technologies Corp. was formerly known as Production Systems Acquisition Corporation and changed its name to Productivity Technologies Corp. in May 1996. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Fenton, Michigan. It has sales and engineering offices in Michigan, Germany, and China.