Analyzing SiTime (NASDAQ:SITM) and BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY)

BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY) and SiTime (NASDAQ:SITM) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.3% of SiTime shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of BE Semiconductor Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of SiTime shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for BE Semiconductor Industries and SiTime, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BE Semiconductor Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00
SiTime	1	0	3	0	2.50

SiTime has a consensus price target of $196.25, indicating a potential downside of 3.52%. Given SiTime’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SiTime is more favorable than BE Semiconductor Industries.

Profitability

This table compares BE Semiconductor Industries and SiTime’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BE Semiconductor Industries	28.93%	39.36%	18.75%
SiTime	-53.55%	-9.89%	-7.56%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares BE Semiconductor Industries and SiTime”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BE Semiconductor Industries	$626.45 million	13.49	$191.66 million	$2.43	47.97
SiTime	$143.99 million	33.00	-$80.54 million	($4.14)	-49.14

BE Semiconductor Industries has higher revenue and earnings than SiTime. SiTime is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BE Semiconductor Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

BE Semiconductor Industries has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SiTime has a beta of 1.83, indicating that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SiTime beats BE Semiconductor Industries on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BE Semiconductor Industries

BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and service of semiconductor assembly equipment for the semiconductor and electronics industries in China, the United States, Malaysia, Ireland, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Other Asia Pacific and Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Die Attach, Packaging, and Plating. The company's principal products include die attach equipment, such as single chip, multi-chip, multi module, flip chip, thermal compression bonding, fan out wafer level packaging, hybrid and embedded bridge die bonding, and die sorting systems; and packaging equipment, including conventional, ultra-thin, and wafer level molding, as well as trim and form, and singulation systems. It also provides plating equipment, such as tin, copper, and precious metal and solar plating systems, as well as related process chemicals; and tooling, conversion kits, spare parts, and other services. The company's principal brand names include Datacon, Esec, Fico, and Meco. It offers its products primarily to multinational chip manufacturers, assembly subcontractors, and electronics and industrial companies. BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Duiven, the Netherlands.

About SiTime

SiTime Corporation designs, develops, and sells silicon timing systems solutions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore, and internationally. The company provides resonators and clock integrated circuits, and various types of oscillators. It serves various markets, including communications, datacenter, enterprise, automotive, industrial, internet of things, mobile, consumer, and aerospace and defense. The company sells its products directly to customers, distributors, and resellers. SiTime Corporation was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Santa Clara, California.