Financial Analysis: Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) and Xtera Communications (OTCMKTS:XCOMQ)

Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) and Xtera Communications (OTCMKTS:XCOMQ) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.8% of Ituran Location and Control shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Ituran Location and Control 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.

Profitability

This table compares Ituran Location and Control and Xtera Communications’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ituran Location and Control	16.03%	27.70%	15.75%
Xtera Communications	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Ituran Location and Control and Xtera Communications, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ituran Location and Control	0	1	4	0	2.80
Xtera Communications	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ituran Location and Control presently has a consensus price target of $60.67, indicating a potential upside of 8.92%. Given Ituran Location and Control’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Ituran Location and Control is more favorable than Xtera Communications.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ituran Location and Control and Xtera Communications”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ituran Location and Control	$359.02 million	3.09	$57.97 million	$3.03	18.38
Xtera Communications	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ituran Location and Control has higher revenue and earnings than Xtera Communications.

Summary

Ituran Location and Control beats Xtera Communications on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ituran Location and Control

Ituran Location and Control Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides location based telematics services and machine-to-machine telematics products. It operates through two segments, Telematics Services and Telematics Products. The Telematics services segment offers stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, which enables to locate, track, and recover stolen vehicles for its subscribers; fleet management services that enable corporate and individual customers to track and manage their vehicles in real time; and locator services that allow customers to protect valuable merchandise and equipment. This segment also delivers on-demand navigation guidance, information, and assistance, including the provision of traffic reports and directions, as well as information on the location of gas stations, car repair shops, post offices, hospitals, and other facilities; and Connected Car, a service platform that includes a back-office application, a telematics device installed in the vehicle, mobile apps for IOS and Android users, and interface using the car infotainment screen, as well as usage based insurance and auto financing services. This segment serves insurance companies and agents, car manufacturers, dealers and importers, cooperative sales channels, and private subscribers. The Telematics Products segment offers Base Site, a radio receiver that includes a processor and a data computation unit to collect and send data to and from transponders, and to control centers; Control Center, a center consisting of software used to collect data from various base sites, conduct location calculations, and transmit location data to various customers and law enforcement agencies; navigation and tracking devices installed in vehicles; and SMART, a portable transmitter installed in vehicles that sends a signal to the base site enabling the location of vehicles, equipment, or an individual. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Azor, Israel.

About Xtera Communications

Xtera Communications, Inc. is in the process of liquidation. Previously, it provided Raman amplification enabled optical transport systems for terrestrial and submarine networks worldwide. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Allen, Texas. On February 21, 2017, the voluntary petition of Xtera Communications, Inc. for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 15, 2016.