Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS – Get Free Report) and Boston Omaha (NYSE:BOC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and risk.
Profitability
This table compares Harte Hanks and Boston Omaha’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Harte Hanks | -3.70% | -30.14% | -6.30% |
| Boston Omaha | -12.12% | -2.49% | -1.88% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Harte Hanks and Boston Omaha, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Harte Hanks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Boston Omaha | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Risk and Volatility
Insider and Institutional Ownership
33.8% of Harte Hanks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.4% of Boston Omaha shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.6% of Harte Hanks shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 24.9% of Boston Omaha shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Harte Hanks and Boston Omaha”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Harte Hanks | $159.57 million | 0.21 | -$810,000.00 | ($0.76) | -5.84 |
| Boston Omaha | $114.38 million | 3.43 | -$12.43 million | ($0.42) | -31.00 |
Harte Hanks has higher revenue and earnings than Boston Omaha. Boston Omaha is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Harte Hanks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Boston Omaha beats Harte Hanks on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Harte Hanks
Harte-Hanks, Inc. engages in the provision of marketing solutions. It specializes in consulting, data analytics, creative services, digital and social media, marketing strategy, marketing technology, and other related services. It supports a range of customers in the field of technology, travel and leisure, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, automotive, finance, and retail. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in San Antonio, TX.
About Boston Omaha
Boston Omaha Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the outdoor billboard advertising business in the southeast United States. It is also involved in the surety insurance and related brokerage, broadband, and asset management businesses. The company was formerly known as REO Plus, Inc. and changed its name to Boston Omaha Corporation in March 2015. Boston Omaha Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
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