Comparing HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) & ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS)

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) and HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ExlService and HireQuest”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ExlService	$2.24 billion	2.53	$251.02 million	$1.59	23.47
HireQuest	$30.64 million	7.54	$6.33 million	$0.57	29.16

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.9% of ExlService shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.0% of HireQuest shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of ExlService shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 42.9% of HireQuest shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

ExlService has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HireQuest has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ExlService and HireQuest’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ExlService	11.17%	30.61%	15.66%
HireQuest	27.06%	16.35%	12.11%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for ExlService and HireQuest, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ExlService	0	1	6	0	2.86
HireQuest	0	1	2	0	2.67

ExlService currently has a consensus target price of $44.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.24%. HireQuest has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.32%. Given ExlService’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe ExlService is more favorable than HireQuest.

Summary

ExlService beats HireQuest on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ExlService

ExlService Holdings, Inc. operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform. In addition, the company offers health care services related to care management, utilization management, disease management, payment integrity, revenue optimization, and customer engagement. Further, it provides financial planning and analysis, management reporting, forecasting and decision support, data management, regulatory reporting and risk, and compliance services; reservations, customer, and fulfilment services; freight billing, collections, claims management, freight audit, freight scheduling, supply chain management, and revenue assurance services; residential mortgage lending, title verification and validation, retail banking and credit cards, trust verification, commercial banking, and investment management; merchandising, pricing, and demand forecasting; and digital operations and solutions. The company offers predictive and prescriptive analytics in the areas of customer acquisition and lifecycle management. ExlService Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc. provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries. The company provides its services under the HireQuest Direct, HireQuest, SNelling, DriverQuest, HireQuest Health, Northbound Executive Search, and MRI trade names. It serves construction, recycling, warehousing, logistics, auctioneering, manufacturing, hospitality, landscaping, and retail industries, as well as dental practices. HireQuest, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Goose Creek, South Carolina.