Head to Head Contrast: 17 Education & Technology Group (NYSE:YQ) and ADT (NYSE:ADT)

ADT (NYSE:ADT) and 17 Education & Technology Group (NYSE:YQ) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares ADT and 17 Education & Technology Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ADT	11.85%	18.99%	4.40%
17 Education & Technology Group	-113.55%	-38.90%	-28.18%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.2% of ADT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.5% of 17 Education & Technology Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of ADT shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.1% of 17 Education & Technology Group shares are owned by 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ADT and 17 Education & Technology Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ADT	$5.16 billion	1.40	$595.95 million	$0.71	13.90
17 Education & Technology Group	$248.49 million	0.12	-$43.92 million	($1.28)	-2.10

ADT has higher revenue and earnings than 17 Education & Technology Group. 17 Education & Technology Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ADT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for ADT and 17 Education & Technology Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ADT	1	4	2	0	2.14
17 Education & Technology Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

ADT currently has a consensus target price of $8.13, indicating a potential downside of 17.63%. Given ADT’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ADT is more favorable than 17 Education & Technology Group.

Volatility and Risk

ADT has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 17 Education & Technology Group has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ADT beats 17 Education & Technology Group on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ADT

ADT Inc. provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems. It primarily offers security designed to detect intrusion, control access, sense movement, smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, flooding, temperature, and other environmental conditions and hazards; and address personal medical emergencies, such as injuries or unanticipated falls. The company also provides automation and smart home solutions that allow customers to use their smart phones, smart phone application, or touchscreen panels in their homes to arm and disarm their security systems; record and view real-time video; and creates customized and automated schedules for connected devices; programs systems to react to defined events; integrates system with third-party connected devices, such as cameras, lights, thermostats, appliances, and garage doors, as well as offers monitoring and maintenance services. In addition, the company offers energy storage solutions, energy efficiency upgrades, and roofing services. It offers its products under the ADT, ADT Pulse, ADT+, and ADT Commercial brand names. The company was formerly known as Prime Security Services Parent, Inc. and changed its name to ADT Inc. in September 2017. ADT Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

About 17 Education & Technology Group

17 Education & Technology Group, Inc. engages in the provision of educational technology solutions. Its in-school plus after-school integrated model delivers data-driven teaching, learning and assessment products to teachers, students and parents. The firm offers online K-12 large-class after-school tutoring services that complement students’ in-school learning. The company was founded by Jia Wei Gan and Bing Yuan on October 30, 2012 and is headquartered Beijing, China.