Reviewing Alpine 4 (NASDAQ:ALPP) and Powerfleet (NASDAQ:AIOT)

Powerfleet (NASDAQ:AIOT) and Alpine 4 (NASDAQ:ALPP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Powerfleet and Alpine 4’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Powerfleet	N/A	N/A	N/A
Alpine 4	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Powerfleet and Alpine 4″s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Powerfleet	$133.59 million	6.43	-$5.68 million	N/A	N/A
Alpine 4	$104.20 million	0.00	-$12.88 million	($2.14)	0.00

Powerfleet has higher revenue and earnings than Alpine 4.

Risk and Volatility

Powerfleet has a beta of 1.67, meaning that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alpine 4 has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

73.4% of Powerfleet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.4% of Alpine 4 shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of Powerfleet shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 45.1% of Alpine 4 shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Powerfleet and Alpine 4, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Powerfleet	0	0	1	0	3.00
Alpine 4	0	0	0	0	0.00

Powerfleet currently has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 53.85%. Given Powerfleet’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Powerfleet is more favorable than Alpine 4.

Summary

Powerfleet beats Alpine 4 on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Powerfleet

PowerFleet, Inc. provides wireless Internet-of-Things asset management solutions in the United States, Israel, and internationally. The company offers real-time intelligence for organizations to capture IoT data from various types of assets with devices and sensors to increase efficiencies, and improve safety and security, as well as increase their profitability in easy-to-understand reports, dashboards, and real-time alerts; and application programming interfaces for additional integrations and development to boost other enterprise management systems and third-party applications. It also provides hosting, maintenance, and support and consulting services; and Software as a Service, including system monitoring, help desk technical support, escalation procedure development, routine diagnostic data analysis, and software updates services. The company offers its products under the PowerFleet, Pointer, and Cellocator brands. It sells its products to commercial and government sectors in manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, wholesale and retail, food and grocery distribution, pharmaceutical and medical distribution, construction, mining, utilities, heavy industry, aerospace and defense, homeland security, and vehicle rental, logistics, shipping, and freight transportation markets, as well as through indirect sales channels, such as original equipment manufacturers, vehicle importers, distributors, and industrial equipment dealers. The company was formerly known as I.D. Systems, Inc. PowerFleet, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

About Alpine 4

Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. operates as an industrial conglomerate in North America. The company offers automotive technologies, including 6th Sense Auto, a connected car technology that provides various advantages to management, sales, finance, and service departments in the automotive dealership industry for productivity, profitability, and customer retention; and BrakeActive, a safety device that improve vehicle's third brake light's ability to reduce or prevent a rear-end collision. It also designs, fabricates, and installs dust collectors, commercial ductwork, kitchen hoods, industrial ventilation systems, machine guards, architectural work, water furnaces, and other products, as well as offers specialized spiral ductwork. In addition, the company provides logistics services for various industries, such as medical, consumer electronics, energy, and disaster relief; electronic contract manufacturing services; contract manufacturing services for dietary and nutritional supplements; international contracting, fabricator, and project management services; and geospatial and 3D data services for various industries, including construction, oil/gas, mining, and quarries. It also manufactures and sells electronic components; and designs, manufactures, and distributes commercial LED lighting and electronics, such as televisions, mounting solutions, projectors and screens, audio equipment, digital signage, mobile audio and video systems, and various wire and connecting products. The company was formerly known as Alpine 4 Technologies, Ltd. and changed its name to Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. in March 2021. Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.