Daktronics (DAKT) Competitors

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) and Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, community ranking, valuation, risk, dividends, media sentiment and earnings.

Which has more volatility and risk, MLAB or DAKT?

Mesa Laboratories has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Daktronics has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of MLAB or DAKT?

90.6% of Mesa Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.7% of Daktronics shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of Mesa Laboratories shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Daktronics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is MLAB or DAKT a better dividend stock?

Mesa Laboratories pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Daktronics pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Mesa Laboratories pays out -1.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Daktronics pays out -100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Daktronics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MLAB or DAKT?

Daktronics received 13 more outperform votes than Mesa Laboratories when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.13% of users gave Daktronics an outperform vote while only 63.90% of users gave Mesa Laboratories an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Mesa Laboratories	Outperform Votes 223 63.90%	Underperform Votes 126 36.10%
Daktronics	Outperform Votes 236 64.13%	Underperform Votes 132 35.87%

Does the media favor MLAB or DAKT?

In the previous week, Daktronics had 2 more articles in the media than Mesa Laboratories. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Daktronics and 4 mentions for Mesa Laboratories. Mesa Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat Daktronics' score of 0.41 indicating that Mesa Laboratories is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Mesa Laboratories	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Daktronics	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend MLAB or DAKT?

Mesa Laboratories currently has a consensus target price of $140.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.32%. Daktronics has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 102.65%. Given Daktronics' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Daktronics is more favorable than Mesa Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mesa Laboratories	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Daktronics	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50

Is MLAB or DAKT more profitable?

Daktronics has a net margin of 3.62% compared to Mesa Laboratories' net margin of -104.92%. Mesa Laboratories' return on equity of 30.23% beat Daktronics' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mesa Laboratories	-104.92%	30.23%	10.43%
Daktronics	3.62%	19.61%	8.96%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, MLAB or DAKT?

Daktronics has higher revenue and earnings than Mesa Laboratories. Daktronics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mesa Laboratories, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mesa Laboratories	$237.75M	2.85	-$254.25M	-$46.26	-2.69
Daktronics	$799.81M	0.80	$34.62M	-$0.20	-64.15

Summary

Daktronics beats Mesa Laboratories on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.