Head-To-Head Review: ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) versus Koala (OTCMKTS:KARE)

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) and Koala (OTCMKTS:KARE) are both industrial products companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.6% of ACCO Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 7.3% of ACCO Brands shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Koala shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for ACCO Brands and Koala, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACCO Brands	0	0	1	0	3.00
Koala	0	0	0	0	N/A

ACCO Brands presently has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.39%. Given ACCO Brands’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ACCO Brands is more favorable than Koala.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ACCO Brands and Koala”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACCO Brands	$1.73 billion	0.30	-$21.80 million	($0.27)	-20.04
Koala	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Koala has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ACCO Brands.

Profitability

This table compares ACCO Brands and Koala’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACCO Brands	-10.15%	13.32%	3.89%
Koala	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

ACCO Brands has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Koala has a beta of 17.05, indicating that its stock price is 1,605% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ACCO Brands beats Koala on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACCO Brands

ACCO Brands Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets consumer, school, technology, and office products. It operates through three segments: ACCO Brands North America, ACCO Brands EMEA, and ACCO Brands International. The company provides computer and gaming accessories, planners, dry erase boards, school notebooks, and janitorial supplies; storage and organization products, such as lever-arch binders, sheet protectors, and indexes; sheet protectors and indexes; laminating, binding, and shredding machines; writing instruments and art products; stapling and punching products; and do-it-yourself tools. It offers its products under the AT-A-GLANCE, Barrilito, Derwent, Esselte, Five Star, Foroni, GBC, Hilroy, Kensington, Leitz, Marbig, Mead, NOBO, PowerA, Quartet, Rapid, Rexel, Swingline, Tilibra, Artline, and Spirax brand names. The company markets and sells its products through various channels, including mass retailers, e-tailers, discount, drug/grocery, and variety chains; warehouse clubs; hardware and specialty stores; independent office product dealers; office superstores; wholesalers; contract stationers; and technology specialty businesses, as well as sells products directly to commercial and consumer end-users through its e-commerce platform and direct sales organization. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Lake Zurich, Illinois.

About Koala

Koala Corporation, doing business as Tech World, Inc., a technology company, offers technical services in the areas of security administration, architecture and paradigms, access management system and processes, applications development, operations, data encryption, telecommunications, network and WAN, business continuity planning, crime law, and investigation and ethics. It also provides alternative energy sources for commercial offices and residential houses, and retirement homes; secure and phone encryption communication services; cellular and wireless data services; and staff augmentation and forensic recovery services, as well as writes applications for mobile phones. In addition, the company offers products for the government market that include thermal imaging cameras, secure communication systems, cellular and satellite phones, ERP and CRM software, and RFID and tracking equipment; and the fuel industry, such as car and truck HHO systems, fuel additives, water-engine heating and home cooking systems, and acetylene replacements. Further, it provides products for the television (TV) market, including 2-D to 3-D conversion boxes, cable TV networks, Internet over cable systems, and satellite TV and data systems; and the telecom market, such as calling cards, direct VOIP systems, WI-max and mobile banking systems, network management products, and unified communication systems, as well as for green-energy and bank markets. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Vienna, Virginia.