Sono-Tek (SOTK) Competitors

Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) and Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) are both small-cap machinery companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, risk and earnings.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in TAYD or SOTK?

17.6% of Taylor Devices shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.9% of Sono-Tek shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of Taylor Devices shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Sono-Tek shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor TAYD or SOTK?

In the previous week, Sono-Tek had 3 more articles in the media than Taylor Devices. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Sono-Tek and 0 mentions for Taylor Devices. Taylor Devices' average media sentiment score of 1.87 beat Sono-Tek's score of 0.94 indicating that Taylor Devices is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Taylor Devices	Very Positive
Sono-Tek	Positive

Do analysts prefer TAYD or SOTK?

Sono-Tek has a consensus target price of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 108.91%. Given Sono-Tek's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sono-Tek is more favorable than Taylor Devices.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Taylor Devices	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Sono-Tek	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk and volatility, TAYD or SOTK?

Taylor Devices has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sono-Tek has a beta of -0.25, suggesting that its stock price is 125% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, TAYD or SOTK?

Taylor Devices has higher revenue and earnings than Sono-Tek. Taylor Devices is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sono-Tek, 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
Taylor Devices	$46.29M	3.33	$9.41M	$3.00	16.30
Sono-Tek	$20.50M	2.75	$1.27M	$0.09	39.89

Is TAYD or SOTK more profitable?

Taylor Devices has a net margin of 20.33% compared to Sono-Tek's net margin of 6.93%. Taylor Devices' return on equity of 16.40% beat Sono-Tek's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Taylor Devices	20.33%	16.40%	14.13%
Sono-Tek	6.93%	8.10%	6.07%

Summary

Taylor Devices beats Sono-Tek on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.