Financial Review: Sage Group (OTCMKTS:SGPYY) and ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS)

Sage Group (OTCMKTS:SGPYY) and ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sage Group and ePlus”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sage Group	$2.96 billion	5.71	$409.63 million	N/A	N/A
ePlus	$2.07 billion	0.95	$107.98 million	$4.05	18.29

Sage Group has higher revenue and earnings than ePlus.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.7% of Sage Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of ePlus shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of ePlus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Sage Group and ePlus, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sage Group	1	0	0	0	1.00
ePlus	0	0	0	0	0.00

Volatility & Risk

Sage Group has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ePlus has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Sage Group and ePlus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sage Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
ePlus	5.22%	11.34%	6.17%

Summary

ePlus beats Sage Group on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sage Group

The Sage Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology solutions and services for small and medium businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It offers cloud native solutions, such as Sage Intacct, a cloud accounting software product and financial management software; Sage People, a HR and people management solution; Sage 200, a finance and business management solution; Sage X3, a business management solution; Sage Accounting, a solution for small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers to manage customer data, accounts, and people; Sage Payroll for small businesses manage their payroll; and Sage HR for small and mid-sized businesses for record management, leave management, staff scheduling, and expenses services. The company also provides Sage 50cloud and Sage 200cloud that provides a range of cloud connected accounting solutions. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, the United Kingdom.

About ePlus

ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; managed services or infrastructure and cloud; and enhanced maintenance support, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted and managed, and managed security services; and professional, staff augmentation, cloud consulting, consulting, and security services. The Financing segment engages in financing arrangements, such as sales-type and operating leases; loans and consumption-based financing arrangements; and underwriting, management, and disposal of IT equipment and assets. Its financing operations comprise sales, pricing, credit, contracts, accounting, and risk and asset management. This segment primarily finances IT, communication-related, and medical equipment; and industrial machinery and equipment, office furniture and general office equipment, transportation equipment, and other general business equipment directly, as well as through vendors. The company serves commercial entities, state and local governments, government contractors, healthcare, and educational institutions. The company was formerly known as MLC Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to ePlus inc. in 1999. ePlus inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.