Comparing Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) and BGSF (NYSE:BGSF)

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) and BGSF (NYSE:BGSF) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Willdan Group has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BGSF has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Willdan Group and BGSF”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Willdan Group	$681.55 million	1.63	$52.56 million	$3.48	21.60
BGSF	$93.31 million	0.76	-$11.43 million	($1.03)	-6.15

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.3% of Willdan Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.2% of BGSF shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of Willdan Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of BGSF shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Willdan Group and BGSF, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Willdan Group	0	1	3	0	2.75
BGSF	1	1	1	1	2.50

Willdan Group presently has a consensus price target of $124.33, suggesting a potential upside of 65.38%. BGSF has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.09%. Given Willdan Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than BGSF.

Profitability

This table compares Willdan Group and BGSF’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Willdan Group	7.71%	23.34%	12.78%
BGSF	-8.43%	-14.13%	-7.72%

Summary

Willdan Group beats BGSF on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services. The Engineering and Consulting segment provides building and safety, city engineering and code enforcement, development plan review and inspection, disaster recovery, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, planning and surveying, contract staff support, program and construction management, structural engineering, transportation and traffic engineering, and water resources services. This segment also offers district administration, financial consulting, and federal compliance services. It serves public and governmental agencies, including cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, water districts, school districts, and universities; investor and municipal owned energy utilities; state and federal agencies; and commercial and industrial firms, as well as various other special districts and agencies. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Anaheim, California.

About BGSF

BGSF, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides consulting, managed services, and professional workforce solutions in the United States. It operates in two segments, Property Management and Professional. The Property Management segment offers office and maintenance field talent to various apartment communities and commercial buildings. The Professional segment provides skilled IT professionals in SAP, Workday, Peoplesoft, Hyperion, Oracle, One Stream, cyber, project management, management services, and other IT workforce solutions. This segment also offers finance, accounting, legal, human resource, and related support personnel. It serves its products to fortune 500 companies, and medium and small companies, as well as consulting companies. The company was formerly known as BG Staffing, Inc. and changed its name to BGSF, Inc. in February 2021. BGSF, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Plano, Texas.