Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) and Astrana Health (NASDAQ:ASTH) Head-To-Head Contrast

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) and Astrana Health (NASDAQ:ASTH) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Montrose Environmental Group and Astrana Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Montrose Environmental Group	-5.28%	1.86%	0.78%
Astrana Health	3.63%	9.37%	5.32%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Montrose Environmental Group and Astrana Health, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Montrose Environmental Group	0	2	3	0	2.60
Astrana Health	0	3	6	0	2.67

Montrose Environmental Group presently has a consensus price target of $31.80, indicating a potential upside of 41.85%. Astrana Health has a consensus price target of $53.29, indicating a potential upside of 102.15%. Given Astrana Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Astrana Health is more favorable than Montrose Environmental Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Montrose Environmental Group and Astrana Health”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Montrose Environmental Group	$718.90 million	1.08	-$30.86 million	($2.32)	-9.66
Astrana Health	$2.25 billion	0.66	$60.72 million	$0.72	36.61

Astrana Health has higher revenue and earnings than Montrose Environmental Group. Montrose Environmental Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astrana Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Montrose Environmental Group has a beta of 1.89, suggesting that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astrana Health has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.8% of Astrana Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.0% of Astrana Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Astrana Health beats Montrose Environmental Group on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. operates as an environmental services company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Assessment, Permitting and Response; Measurement and Analysis; and Remediation and Reuse. The Assessment, Permitting and Response segment provides scientific advisory and consulting services to support environmental assessments; environmental emergency response and recovery; toxicology consulting and environmental audits and permits for current operations; facility upgrades; new projects; decommissioning projects; and development projects. This segment also offers technical advisory and consulting services, including regulatory compliance support and planning, environmental, ecosystem and toxicological assessments, and support during responses to environmental disruptions. The Measurement and Analysis segment tests and analyzes air, water, and soil to determine concentrations of contaminants, as well as the toxicological impact of contaminants on flora, fauna, and human health. Its services include source and ambient air testing and monitoring, leak detection, and advanced analytical laboratory services, such as storm water, wastewater, and drinking water analysis. The Remediation and Reuse segment provides engineering, design, implementation, and operations and maintenance services primarily to treat contaminated water, remove contaminants from soil, or create biogas from waste. The company serves financial, oil and gas, utilities, construction, automotive, real-estate, midstream energy, manufacturing, commodities, petrochemical, food and beverage, telecommunications, and engineering industries, as well as local, state, provincial, and federal government entities. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

About Astrana Health

Astrana Health, Inc., Inc., a physician-centric technology-powered healthcare management company, provides medical care services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Care Partners, Care Delivery, and Care Enablement. The company is leveraging its proprietary population health management and healthcare delivery platform, operates an integrated, value-based healthcare model which empowers the providers in its network to deliver care to its patients. It offers care coordination services to patients, families, primary care physicians, specialists, acute care hospitals, alternative sites of inpatient care, physician groups, and health plans. The company's physician network consists of primary care physicians, specialist physicians and extenders, and hospitalists. It serves patients, primarily covered by private or public insurance, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and health maintenance organization plans; and non-insured patients. The company was formerly known as Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Astrana Health, Inc. in February 2024. Astrana Health, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Alhambra, California.