Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI – Get Free Report) and Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Barrett Business Services and Exponent’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Barrett Business Services | 3.24% | 22.89% | 6.84% |
| Exponent | 18.07% | 27.94% | 14.59% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Barrett Business Services and Exponent, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Barrett Business Services | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2.80 |
| Exponent | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.50 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
86.8% of Barrett Business Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of Exponent shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of Barrett Business Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Exponent shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Barrett Business Services and Exponent”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Barrett Business Services | $1.24 billion | 0.77 | $54.45 million | $1.54 | 25.35 |
| Exponent | $602.81 million | 5.38 | $106.01 million | $2.23 | 29.98 |
Exponent has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Barrett Business Services. Barrett Business Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Exponent, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Barrett Business Services has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exponent has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Barrett Business Services pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Exponent pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Barrett Business Services pays out 20.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Exponent pays out 55.6% 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. Barrett Business Services has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Exponent has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Exponent is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Exponent beats Barrett Business Services on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Barrett Business Services
Barrett Business Services, Inc. provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry. It offers professional employer services under which it enters into a client services agreement to establish a co-employment relationship with each client company, assuming responsibility for payroll, payroll taxes, workers compensation coverage, and other administration functions for the client’s existing workforce. The company provides staffing and recruiting services, such as on-demand or short-term staffing assignment, contract staffing, direct placement, and long-term or indefinite-term on-site management services. It serves electronics manufacturers, light-manufacturing industries, agriculture-based companies, transportation and shipping enterprises, food processors, telecommunications companies, public utilities, general contractors in various construction-related fields, restaurant franchises, and professional services firms. Barrett Business Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.
About Exponent
Exponent, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering. The Environmental and Health segment offers services in the areas of chemical regulation and food safety, ecological and biological sciences, environmental and earth sciences, and health sciences. The company offers approximately 90 technical disciplines to solve pressing and complicated challenges facing stakeholders. It serves clients in chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, food, beverage and nutrition, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, technology, industrial equipment, transportation, and other sectors of the economy. The company was formerly known as The Failure Group, Inc. and changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
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