ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) vs. Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) Financial Review

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) and ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Acacia Research and ABM Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acacia Research	1.70%	2.45%	1.80%
ABM Industries	1.86%	11.96%	4.10%

Risk and Volatility

Acacia Research has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ABM Industries has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.7% of Acacia Research shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of ABM Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Acacia Research shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of ABM Industries 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 Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Acacia Research and ABM Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acacia Research	1	0	0	0	1.00
ABM Industries	0	4	0	0	2.00

ABM Industries has a consensus target price of $50.67, indicating a potential upside of 10.11%. Given ABM Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ABM Industries is more favorable than Acacia Research.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Acacia Research and ABM Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acacia Research	$122.31 million	3.14	-$36.06 million	$0.05	79.60
ABM Industries	$8.75 billion	0.32	$162.30 million	$2.59	17.77

ABM Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Acacia Research. ABM Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acacia Research, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

ABM Industries beats Acacia Research on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acacia Research

Acacia is a publicly traded (Nasdaq: ACTG) company that is focused on acquiring and operating businesses across the industrial, energy and technology sectors where it believes it can leverage its expertise, significant capital base, and deep industry relationships to drive value. Acacia evaluates opportunities based on the attractiveness of the underlying cash flows, without regard to a specific investment horizon. Acacia operates its businesses based on three key principles of people, process, and performance and has built a management team with demonstrated expertise in research, transactions and execution, and operations and management.

About ABM Industries

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments. The company offers janitorial, facilities engineering, and parking services for commercial real estate properties, including corporate offices for high tech clients, sports and entertainment venues, and traditional hospitals and non-acute healthcare facilities; provides vehicle maintenance and other services to rental car providers. It also offers integrated facility services, engineering, and other specialized services in various types of manufacturing, distribution, and data center facilities. In addition, the company delivers custodial and landscaping and grounds for public school districts, private schools, colleges, and universities. Further, it supports airlines and airports with services comprising passenger assistance, catering logistics, air cabin maintenance, and transportation services. Additionally, the company provides electric vehicle power design, installation, and maintenance, as well as microgrid systems installations. ABM Industries Incorporated was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in New York, New York.