Financial Review: HNI (NYSE:HNI) & Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC)

Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC) and HNI (NYSE:HNI) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Quest Resource and HNI’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quest Resource	-7.07%	-13.51%	-3.70%
HNI	0.10%	13.66%	5.23%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Quest Resource and HNI”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quest Resource	$250.22 million	0.12	-$15.38 million	($0.82)	-1.80
HNI	$2.84 billion	1.25	$54.20 million	$0.09	546.77

HNI has higher revenue and earnings than Quest Resource. Quest Resource is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HNI, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Quest Resource and HNI, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quest Resource	1	1	0	0	1.50
HNI	0	1	1	0	2.50

HNI has a consensus target price of $65.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.09%. Given HNI’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HNI is more favorable than Quest Resource.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

48.2% of Quest Resource shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.3% of HNI shares are held by institutional investors. 19.6% of Quest Resource shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of HNI shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Quest Resource has a beta of 0.18, suggesting that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HNI has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

HNI beats Quest Resource on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quest Resource

Quest Resource Holding Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides solutions for the reuse, recycling, and disposal of various waste streams and recyclables in the United States. The company provides disposal and recycling services for motor oil and automotive lubricants, oil filters, scrap tires, oily water, goods destruction, food waste, meat renderings, cooking oil and grease trap waste, plastics, cardboard, metal, glass, mixed paper, construction debris, as well as a large variety of regulated and non-regulated solid, liquid, and gas wastes. It offers antifreeze and windshield washer fluid, dumpster and compacting equipment, and other minor ancillary services. In addition, the company offers landfill diversion services. Its services focus on the waste streams and recyclables from big box, grocers, and other retailers; automotive maintenance, quick lube, dealerships, and collision repair; transportation, logistics, and internal fleet operators; manufacturing plants; multi-family and commercial properties; restaurant chains and food operations; and construction and demolition projects. The company markets its services to automotive, manufacturing, hospitality and retail, construction and demolition, and commercial and multi-family property management industries through direct sales force and strategic partnerships. The company was formerly known as Infinity Resources Holdings Corp. and changed its name to Quest Resource Holding Corporation in October 2013. Quest Resource Holding Corporation is headquartered in The Colony, Texas.

About HNI

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands. This segment sells its products through independent office products dealers, wholesalers, office product distributors, e-commerce focused resellers, and wholesalers, as well as directly to end-user customers and governments. The Residential Building Products segment provides various gas, wood, electric, and pellet-fueled prefabricated fireplaces; and inserts, hearth stoves, facings, outdoor fire pits and fire tables, and accessories. This segment sells its products primarily for home use under the Heatilator, Heat & Glo, Majestic, Monessen, Quadra-Fire, Harman, Vermont Castings, PelPro, Stellar, SimpliFire, The Outdoor GreatRoom Company, and Forge & Flame brand names through independent dealers and distributors, and corporation-owned distribution and retail outlets. The company was incorporated in 1944 and is headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa.