Critical Survey: Pro-Dex (NASDAQ:PDEX) & Utah Medical Products (NASDAQ:UTMD)

Utah Medical Products (NASDAQ:UTMD) and Pro-Dex (NASDAQ:PDEX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Utah Medical Products has a beta of 0.06, meaning that its stock price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pro-Dex has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.6% of Utah Medical Products shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.3% of Pro-Dex shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Utah Medical Products shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 47.5% of Pro-Dex shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Utah Medical Products and Pro-Dex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Utah Medical Products	33.92%	11.07%	10.53%
Pro-Dex	11.06%	21.68%	12.40%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Utah Medical Products and Pro-Dex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Utah Medical Products	0	0	0	0	0.00
Pro-Dex	0	0	1	0	3.00

Pro-Dex has a consensus price target of $52.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.83%. Given Pro-Dex’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pro-Dex is more favorable than Utah Medical Products.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Utah Medical Products and Pro-Dex”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Utah Medical Products	$40.90 million	4.82	$13.87 million	$3.95	14.73
Pro-Dex	$61.00 million	2.55	$2.13 million	$2.01	23.77

Utah Medical Products has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Pro-Dex. Utah Medical Products is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pro-Dex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Pro-Dex beats Utah Medical Products on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Utah Medical Products

Utah Medical Products, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes medical devices for the healthcare industry worldwide. It offers fetal monitoring accessories, vacuum-assisted delivery systems, and other labor and delivery tools; DISPOSA-HOOD infant respiratory hoods; and DELTRAN PLUS blood pressure monitoring systems. It also provides GESCO, an umbilical vessel catheters, including DIALY-NATE disposable peritoneal dialysis sets; PALA-NATE silicone oral protection devices; URI-CATH urinary drainage systems; NUTRI-CATH\NUTRI-LOK feeding device; PICC-NATE, a percutaneous intraepithelial central venous catheter; MYELO-NATE lumbar sampling kits; HEMO-NATE disposable filters; and catheterization procedure tray of instruments and supplies. In addition, the company offers LETZ system to excise cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and other lower genital tract lesions; loop, ball, and needle electrodes; FILTRESSE evacuators; other specialty electrodes and supplies, and gynecologic tools; Femcare trocars, cannulae, laparoscopic instruments, and accessories; and EPITOME and OptiMicro electrosurgical devices. Further, it provides Filshie Clip female surgical contraception devices; PATHFINDER PLUS, an endoscopic irrigation devices; suprapubic catheterization; LIBERTY, an urinary incontinence treatment and control systems; ENDOCURETTE, a curette for uterine endometrial tissue sampling; TVUS/HSG-Cath to assess abnormal or dysfunctional uterine bleeding and other abnormalities of uterus; and LUMIN, a tool to manipulate the uterus in laparoscopic procedures. Additionally, it offers DELTRAN, a disposable pressure transducer; high-pressure and piezo-resistive transducer assemblies; and pressure monitoring accessories, components, and other molded parts. It serves neonatal intensive care units, labor and delivery departments, women's health centers in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and physician's offices. The company was incorporated in 1978 and is headquartered in Midvale, Utah.

About Pro-Dex

Pro-Dex, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells powered surgical instruments for medical device original equipment manufacturers worldwide. The company offers autoclavable, battery-powered and electric, and multi-function surgical drivers and shavers that are primarily used in the orthopedic, thoracic, and craniomaxillofacial markets. It also provides engineering, quality, and regulatory consulting services; and manufactures and sells rotary air motors to various industries. The company's products are used in hospitals, medical engineering labs, scientific research facilities, and high-tech manufacturing operations. Pro-Dex, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.