Clarivate (NYSE:CLVT) and Kforce (NASDAQ:KFRC) Head to Head Comparison

Clarivate (NYSE:CLVT) and Kforce (NASDAQ:KFRC) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Clarivate and Kforce, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clarivate	3	4	1	0	1.75
Kforce	0	3	2	0	2.40

Clarivate currently has a consensus target price of $2.77, indicating a potential upside of 33.91%. Kforce has a consensus target price of $63.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.43%. Given Clarivate’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Clarivate is more favorable than Kforce.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Clarivate and Kforce”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clarivate	$2.46 billion	0.54	-$201.10 million	($0.52)	-3.97
Kforce	$1.37 billion	0.75	$50.41 million	$2.39	24.09

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

Profitability

This table compares Clarivate and Kforce’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clarivate	-13.84%	9.15%	3.99%
Kforce	3.59%	30.34%	13.76%

Volatility & Risk

Clarivate has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kforce has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.7% of Clarivate shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.8% of Kforce shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.9% of Clarivate shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Kforce shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Kforce beats Clarivate on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Clarivate

Clarivate Plc operates as an information services provider in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through three segments: Academia & Government, Life Sciences & Healthcare, and Intellectual Property. The company offers Web of Science and InCites, that analyzes and explores the academic research landscape and manages research information; ProQuest One and Ebook Central that provides comprehensive content collections to institutions in a cost-effective manner; and Alma and Polaris, that manages academic resources and services, connect users, and support research publications. It also provides Patent and Trademark Renewals, that supports paralegal and admin tasks throughout the patent and trademark protection and maintenance process; CompuMark and Derwent, that supports critical decisions around patent and trademark protection, risk, and value creation throughout the innovation and brand lifecycle; IPFolio and Foundation IP that creates a structured environment for the protection and management of global patent and trademark assets. In addition, the company offers Cortellis Competitive Intelligence and Cortellis Drug Discovery Intelligence, that supports the development of new drugs and medical devices from discovery to clinical trials; Cortellis Regulatory Intelligence and OFF-X to monitor drug safety issues and adhere to regulatory protocols; Real World Data and Optimize that inform commercial launch strategy and set pricing for optimal reimbursement. It serves corporations, universities, law firms, government agencies, public libraries, and other professional services organizations. The company was formerly known as Clarivate Analytics Plc and changed its name to Clarivate Plc in May 2020. Clarivate Plc was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Kforce

Kforce Inc. provides professional staffing services and solutions in the United States. It operates through two segments, Technology, and Finance and Accounting (FA). The Technology segment provides talent solutions to its clients primarily in the areas of information technology, such as systems/applications architecture and development, data management and analytics, business and artificial intelligence, machine learning, project and program management, and network architecture and security. This segment serves clients in various industries comprising financial and business services, communications, insurance, retail, and technology industries. The FA businesses segment offers talent solutions to its clients in areas, including financial planning and analysis, business intelligence analysis, general accounting, transactional accounting, business and cost analysis, and taxation and treasury. It also provides consultants in lower skilled areas comprising loan servicing and support, customer and call center support, data entry, and other administrative roles. This segment serves clients in various industries, including financial and business services, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.