Comparing JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) and ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX)

ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX) and JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

6.8% of ASE Technology shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.8% of JinkoSolar shares are held by institutional investors. 22.9% of ASE Technology shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of JinkoSolar shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

ASE Technology pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. JinkoSolar pays an annual dividend of $2.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.6%. ASE Technology pays out 50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. JinkoSolar pays out 46.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. JinkoSolar is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for ASE Technology and JinkoSolar, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ASE Technology	0	0	1	0	3.00
JinkoSolar	1	5	0	0	1.83

JinkoSolar has a consensus price target of $24.60, indicating a potential downside of 3.72%. Given JinkoSolar’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe JinkoSolar is more favorable than ASE Technology.

Profitability

This table compares ASE Technology and JinkoSolar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ASE Technology	5.38%	9.90%	4.59%
JinkoSolar	1.65%	7.86%	2.00%

Risk and Volatility

ASE Technology has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JinkoSolar has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ASE Technology and JinkoSolar”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ASE Technology	$587.79 billion	0.04	$1.16 billion	$0.46	20.83
JinkoSolar	$111.76 billion	0.01	$485.56 million	$6.41	3.99

ASE Technology has higher revenue and earnings than JinkoSolar. JinkoSolar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ASE Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

ASE Technology beats JinkoSolar on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ASE Technology

ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides semiconductors packaging and testing, and electronic manufacturing services in the United States, Taiwan, Asia, Europe, and internationally. It develops, constructs, sells, leases, and manages real estate properties; produces substrates; offers information software, equipment leasing, investment advisory, and warehousing management services; commercial complex, after-sales, and support services; manages parking lot services; processes and sells computer and communication peripherals, electronic components, telecommunications equipment, and motherboards; and imports and exports goods and technology. ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 1984 and is based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

About JinkoSolar

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, production, and marketing of photovoltaic products. The company offers solar modules, silicon wafers, solar cells, recovered silicon materials, and silicon ingots. It also provides solar system integration services; solar power generation and solar system EPC services; and energy storage system, as well as undertakes solar power projects. The company sells its products to distributors, project developers, system integrators, and manufacturers of solar power products under the JinkoSolar brand. As of December 31, 2023, it had an integrated annual capacity of 85 gigawatts (GW) for mono wafers; 90 GW for solar cells; and 110 GW for solar modules. It operates in China, the United States, Mexico, Australia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Jordan, Vietnam, Egypt, Spain, Germany, and internationally. JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Shangrao, the People's Republic of China.