Reviewing ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) & Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM)

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) and Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for ABM Industries and Bright Horizons Family Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ABM Industries	0	4	1	0	2.20
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	2	4	4	0	2.20

ABM Industries currently has a consensus price target of $46.25, indicating a potential upside of 15.06%. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a consensus price target of $100.44, indicating a potential upside of 48.00%. Given Bright Horizons Family Solutions’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bright Horizons Family Solutions is more favorable than ABM Industries.

Profitability

This table compares ABM Industries and Bright Horizons Family Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ABM Industries	1.78%	11.77%	3.99%
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	6.35%	18.01%	6.18%

Risk and Volatility

ABM Industries has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.6% of ABM Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of ABM Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ABM Industries and Bright Horizons Family Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ABM Industries	$8.75 billion	0.27	$162.30 million	$2.54	15.82
Bright Horizons Family Solutions	$2.93 billion	1.22	$193.12 million	$3.32	20.44

Bright Horizons Family Solutions has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ABM Industries. ABM Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bright Horizons Family Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Bright Horizons Family Solutions beats ABM Industries on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ABM Industries

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments. The company offers janitorial, facilities engineering, and parking services for commercial real estate properties, including corporate offices for high tech clients, sports and entertainment venues, and traditional hospitals and non-acute healthcare facilities; provides vehicle maintenance and other services to rental car providers. It also offers integrated facility services, engineering, and other specialized services in various types of manufacturing, distribution, and data center facilities. In addition, the company delivers custodial and landscaping and grounds for public school districts, private schools, colleges, and universities. Further, it supports airlines and airports with services comprising passenger assistance, catering logistics, air cabin maintenance, and transportation services. Additionally, the company provides electric vehicle power design, installation, and maintenance, as well as microgrid systems installations. ABM Industries Incorporated was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services. The Full Service Center-Based Child Care segment offers traditional center-based child care and early education, preschool, and elementary education services. The Back-Up Care segment provides center-based back-up child care, in-home child and adult/elder dependent care, school-age camps, virtual tutoring, and self-sourced reimbursed care services through child care centers, school-age campuses, and in-home caregivers, as well as the back-up care network. The Educational Advisory and Other Services segment offers tuition assistance and student loan repayment program administration, workforce education, and related educational consulting services, as well as college admissions and college financial advisory services. The company was formerly known as Bright Horizons Solutions Corp. and changed its name to Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. in July 2012. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.