Comparing Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU) & Kimball Electronics (NASDAQ:KE)

Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU) and Kimball Electronics (NASDAQ:KE) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Spruce Power and Kimball Electronics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spruce Power	-23.23%	-18.82%	-2.86%
Kimball Electronics	1.65%	6.09%	3.21%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Spruce Power and Kimball Electronics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spruce Power	1	0	0	0	1.00
Kimball Electronics	0	2	2	0	2.50

Kimball Electronics has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.92%. Given Kimball Electronics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kimball Electronics is more favorable than Spruce Power.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

20.8% of Spruce Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.0% of Kimball Electronics shares are held by institutional investors. 12.7% of Spruce Power shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Kimball Electronics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Spruce Power has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kimball Electronics has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Spruce Power and Kimball Electronics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spruce Power	$82.11 million	0.93	-$70.49 million	($1.38)	-3.06
Kimball Electronics	$1.49 billion	0.40	$16.98 million	$0.96	25.66

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

Summary

Kimball Electronics beats Spruce Power on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spruce Power

Spruce Power Holding Corporation owns and operates distributed solar energy assets in the United States. The company provides subscription-based services for homeowners and businesses to own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage. It offers its subscription-based services to approximately 75,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Kimball Electronics

Kimball Electronics, Inc. engages in the provision of electronics manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain support services to customers in the automotive, medical, and industrial end markets. The Company also offers contract manufacturing services, including engineering and supply chain support for the production of electronic assemblies and other products, including non-electronic components, medical devices, medical disposables, and precision molded plastics, as well as automation, test, and inspection equipment primarily used in automotive, medical, and industrial applications. In addition, it is also involved in the production and testing of printed circuit board assemblies, as well as clean room assembly, cold chain, and product sterilization management activities. Further, the company offers design services and support, supply chain services and support, rapid prototyping and new product introduction support, product design and process validation and qualification, industrialization and automation of manufacturing processes, reliability testing, aftermarket services, drug delivery devices and solutions with and without electronics, and product life cycle management services, as well as and assembly of medical, automotive, and industrial products. It operates in the United States, China, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Thailand, India, Japan, Vietnam, and internationally. Kimball Electronics, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Jasper, Indiana.