Head-To-Head Review: ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) & Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)

ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) and Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ManpowerGroup and Planet Labs PBC”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ManpowerGroup	$17.96 billion	0.13	-$13.30 million	$2.20	23.40
Planet Labs PBC	$378.28 million	15.38	-$246.86 million	($1.10)	-14.53

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

Volatility & Risk

ManpowerGroup has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Planet Labs PBC has a beta of 2.17, indicating that its share price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ManpowerGroup and Planet Labs PBC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ManpowerGroup	0.56%	7.45%	1.79%
Planet Labs PBC	-95.13%	-93.11%	-29.17%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for ManpowerGroup and Planet Labs PBC, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ManpowerGroup	0	6	3	0	2.33
Planet Labs PBC	1	7	5	1	2.43

ManpowerGroup presently has a consensus target price of $53.50, suggesting a potential upside of 3.93%. Planet Labs PBC has a consensus target price of $31.56, suggesting a potential upside of 97.43%. Given Planet Labs PBC’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Planet Labs PBC is more favorable than ManpowerGroup.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.0% of ManpowerGroup shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of Planet Labs PBC shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of ManpowerGroup shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of Planet Labs PBC shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

ManpowerGroup pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Planet Labs PBC pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. ManpowerGroup pays out 65.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Planet Labs PBC pays out -87.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Planet Labs PBC is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Planet Labs PBC beats ManpowerGroup on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup Inc. provides workforce solutions and services worldwide. The company offers recruitment services, including permanent, temporary, and contract recruitment of professionals, as well as administrative and industrial positions under the Manpower and Experis brands. It also offers various assessment services; training and development services; career and talent management; and outsourcing services related to human resources functions primarily in the areas of large-scale recruiting and workforce-intensive initiatives. In addition, the company provides workforce consulting services; contingent staffing and permanent recruitment services; professional resourcing and project-based services; and recruitment process outsourcing, TAPFIN managed, and talent solutions. The company was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC engages in the design, construction, and launch constellations of satellites with the intent of providing high cadence geospatial data delivered to customers through an online platform worldwide. The company’s platform offers planet monitoring, basemap, tasking, apps, and application programming interfaces, as well as analytics and planetary variables. It serves agriculture, mapping, energy, forestry, finance and insurance companies, and government agencies. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.