ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) & Regal Rexnord (NYSE:RRX) Financial Comparison
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyESS Tech (NYSE:GWH – Get Free Report) and Regal Rexnord (NYSE:RRX – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.
Volatility & Risk
ESS Tech has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regal Rexnord has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for ESS Tech and Regal Rexnord, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| ESS Tech | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Regal Rexnord | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.73 |
ESS Tech presently has a consensus price target of $2.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,176.32%. Regal Rexnord has a consensus price target of $243.75, indicating a potential upside of 50.94%. Given ESS Tech’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe ESS Tech is more favorable than Regal Rexnord.
Profitability
This table compares ESS Tech and Regal Rexnord’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| ESS Tech | N/A | -1,934.84% | -156.40% |
| Regal Rexnord | 5.35% | 9.93% | 4.91% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares ESS Tech and Regal Rexnord”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| ESS Tech | $1.58 million | 3.27 | -$63.44 million | ($2.93) | -0.05 |
| Regal Rexnord | $5.93 billion | 1.81 | $279.50 million | $4.85 | 33.30 |
Regal Rexnord has higher revenue and earnings than ESS Tech. ESS Tech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Regal Rexnord, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
46.8% of ESS Tech shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Regal Rexnord shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of ESS Tech shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Regal Rexnord shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Regal Rexnord beats ESS Tech on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About ESS Tech
ESS Tech, Inc., an energy storage company, designs and produces iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications worldwide. It offers energy storage products, which include Energy Warehouse, a behind-the-meter solution; and Energy Center, a front-of-the-meter solution. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon.
About Regal Rexnord
Regal Rexnord Corporation manufactures and sells industrial powertrain solutions, power transmission components, electric motors and electronic controls, air moving products, and specialty electrical components and systems worldwide. The Industrial Powertrain Solutions segment provides mounted and unmounted bearings, couplings, mechanical power transmission drives and components, gearboxes, gear motors, clutches, brakes, special, and industrial powertrain components and solutions for food and beverage, bulk material handling, eCommerce/warehouse distribution, energy, mining, marine, agricultural machinery, turf and garden, and general industrial markets. The Power Efficiency Solutions segment offers AC and DC motors, electronic variable speed controls, and blowers for residential, commercial HVAC, water heaters, commercial refrigeration, commercial building ventilation, pool and spa, irrigation, agriculture, conveying, and general commercial equipment markets. The Automation and Motion Control segment provides conveyor products, conveying automation subsystems, aerospace components, rotary precision motion solutions, high-efficiency miniature motors, motion controls, automation transfer switches, and switchgear for industrial applications and automation systems for material handling, aerospace and defense, factory automation, data centers, medical device, packaging, printing, semiconductor, robotic, industrial power tool, mobile off-highway, food and beverage processing, and other applications. The Industrial Systems segment offers integral motors, alternators, and aftermarket parts and kits for agriculture, marine, mining, oil and gas, food and beverage, data centers, prime and standby power, and general industrial equipment markets. It sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end-users. The company was formerly known as Regal Beloit Corporation. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.