Contrasting Knowles (NYSE:KN) and IEH (OTCMKTS:IEHC)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyIEH (OTCMKTS:IEHC – Get Free Report) and Knowles (NYSE:KN – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
96.3% of Knowles shares are held by institutional investors. 28.1% of IEH shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Knowles shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares IEH and Knowles”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| IEH | $29.42 million | 2.29 | -$1.30 million | ($0.01) | -2,710.00 |
| Knowles | $593.20 million | 4.46 | $44.20 million | $0.82 | 38.09 |
Knowles has higher revenue and earnings than IEH. IEH is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Knowles, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for IEH and Knowles, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| IEH | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Knowles | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2.80 |
Knowles has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.26%. Given Knowles’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Knowles is more favorable than IEH.
Profitability
This table compares IEH and Knowles’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| IEH | 0.04% | 0.06% | 0.05% |
| Knowles | 10.76% | 11.82% | 8.75% |
Risk & Volatility
IEH has a beta of -0.12, indicating that its share price is 112% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Knowles has a beta of 1.6, indicating that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Knowles beats IEH on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About IEH
IEH Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells printed circuit board connectors and custom interconnects for high performance applications in the United States and internationally. The company's products are used as basic components of larger assemblies of finished goods. It markets its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, as well as through authorized representatives and distributors primarily to defense, aerospace, medical, industrial, test equipment, space, and commercial electronic markets. The company was formerly known as Industrial Heat Treating Company, Inc. and changed its name to IEH Corporation in March 1989. IEH Corporation was founded in 1941 and is based in Brooklyn, New York.
About Knowles
Knowles Corporation offers capacitors, radio frequency (RF) filtering products, balanced armature speakers, micro-acoustic microphones, and audio solutions in Asia, the United States, Europe, other Americas, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Precision Devices (PD); Medtech & Specialty Audio (MSA); and Consumer MEMS Microphones (CMM). The PD segment designs and delivers film, electrolytic, and mica capacitor products for use in power supplies and medical implants; electromagnetic interference filters; and RF filtering solutions for use in satellite communications and radar systems for defense applications. The MSA segment designs and manufactures balanced armature speakers and microphones for the hearing health, audio, and True Wireless Stereo (TWS) markets. The CMM segment designs and manufactures micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones and audio solutions used in applications that serve the ear, mobile, TWS, Internet of Things, computing, and smartphones markets. The company serves the defense, medtech, electric vehicle, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics markets through original equipment manufacturers, their contract manufacturers, suppliers, sales representatives, and distributors. Knowles Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois.