Stantec (NYSE:STN – Get Free Report) and ATIF (NASDAQ:ZBAI – Get Free Report) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
63.9% of Stantec shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Stantec shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.2% of ATIF shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Stantec and ATIF, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Stantec | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3.00 |
| ATIF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Stantec | $5.47 billion | 2.31 | $263.82 million | $2.74 | 40.44 |
| ATIF | $620,000.00 | 13.42 | -$3.19 million | ($7.19) | -1.21 |
Stantec has higher revenue and earnings than ATIF. ATIF is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stantec, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Stantec has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ATIF has a beta of -0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 164% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Stantec and ATIF’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Stantec | 5.62% | 19.03% | 8.04% |
| ATIF | N/A | -90.49% | -79.46% |
Summary
Stantec beats ATIF on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Stantec
Stantec Inc. provides professional services in the areas of infrastructure and facilities to the public and private sectors in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It offers evaluation, planning, and designing infrastructure solutions; solutions for sustainable water resources, planning, management, and infrastructure; environmental services; integrated architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning solutions for buildings; and energy and resources solutions. The company also provides consulting services in engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics. In addition, it offers planning and design services to clients in residential, logistics, retail, infrastructure, energy, higher education, and urban regeneration sectors; architectural and interior design, and planning services in the science and technology, commercial workplace, higher education, residential, and hospitality markets. Further, the company provides transportation advisory, transport engineering, and technical design; project delivery consultancy services for mining, resources, and industrial infrastructure projects; paleontological and archaeological services for the rail, transportation, water, and power and energy sectors; and environmental and cultural resource compliance services. Additionally, it offers consulting services in sustainable building design, energy infrastructure upgrades, sustainable district heating network, and e-mobility; and planning, design, construction administration, commissioning, maintenance, decommissioning, and remediation services. The company was formerly known as Stanley Technology Group Inc. and changed its name to Stantec Inc. in October 1998. Stantec Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.
About ATIF
ATIF Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of financial consulting services. It is also involved in merger and acquisition business advisory, post-listing compliance, management support, and related services. The company was founded on January 5, 2015 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, CA.
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