HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI – Get Free Report) and Where Food Comes From (NASDAQ:WFCF – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and dividends.
Risk and Volatility
HireQuest has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Where Food Comes From has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares HireQuest and Where Food Comes From”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| HireQuest | $30.15 million | 8.67 | $6.33 million | $0.57 | 33.00 |
| Where Food Comes From | $24.89 million | 2.55 | $1.54 million | $0.28 | 45.46 |
HireQuest has higher revenue and earnings than Where Food Comes From. HireQuest is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Where Food Comes From, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
12.0% of HireQuest shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.8% of Where Food Comes From shares are held by institutional investors. 42.9% of HireQuest shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 53.5% of Where Food Comes From shares are held by 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 Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for HireQuest and Where Food Comes From, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| HireQuest | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Where Food Comes From | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
HireQuest currently has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.01%. Given HireQuest’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HireQuest is more favorable than Where Food Comes From.
Profitability
This table compares HireQuest and Where Food Comes From’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| HireQuest | 27.06% | 16.35% | 12.11% |
| Where Food Comes From | 5.78% | 15.39% | 10.24% |
Summary
HireQuest beats Where Food Comes From on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About HireQuest
HireQuest, Inc. provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries. The company provides its services under the HireQuest Direct, HireQuest, SNelling, DriverQuest, HireQuest Health, Northbound Executive Search, and MRI trade names. It serves construction, recycling, warehousing, logistics, auctioneering, manufacturing, hospitality, landscaping, and retail industries, as well as dental practices. HireQuest, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Goose Creek, South Carolina.
About Where Food Comes From
Where Food Comes From, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a third-party food verification company in North America. The company operates through Verification and Certification, and Professional Services segments. It conducts on-site and desk audits to verify that claims being made about livestock, food, other specialty crops, and agricultural and aquaculture products are accurate, as well as offers Where Food Comes From Source Verified retail and restaurant labeling program, which connects consumers directly to the source of the food they purchase through product labeling, and web-based information sharing and education. It also offers professional services and technology solutions; verification solutions; and consulting services, as well as sells hardware. The company serves beef and pork packers, organic producers and processors, and specialty retail chains. The company was formerly known as Integrated Management Information, Inc. and changed its name to Where Food Comes From, Inc. in December 2012. Where Food Comes From, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Castle Rock, Colorado.
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