ALS (OTCMKTS:CPBLF) vs. Experian (OTCMKTS:EXPGF) Financial Review

Experian (OTCMKTS:EXPGF) and ALS (OTCMKTS:CPBLF) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Experian and ALS”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Experian	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.84	44.80
ALS	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.29	56.74

Experian is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ALS, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Experian and ALS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Experian	N/A	N/A	N/A
ALS	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Experian and ALS, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Experian	0	0	0	0	0.00
ALS	0	1	1	0	2.50

ALS has a consensus target price of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 70.73%. Given ALS’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ALS is more favorable than Experian.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.0% of Experian shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.2% of ALS shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Experian pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. ALS pays an annual dividend of $0.39 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Experian pays out 44.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ALS pays out 134.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

ALS beats Experian on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Experian

Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. The company collects, sorts, aggregates, and transforms data from various sources to provide a range of data-driven services. It also owns, create, and develops analytics, predictive tools, sophisticated software, and platforms; credit risk, fraud prevention, identity management, customer service and engagement, account processing, and account management services; data analysis, and research and development services. In addition, the company provides credit education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, and online educational tools. It serves its customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecoms and utility, insurance, media and technology, and other industries, as well as government and public sectors. The company was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1826 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About ALS

ALS Limited provides professional technical services primarily in the areas of testing, measurement, and inspection in Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. It operates in two segments, Commodities and Life Sciences. The Commodities segment offers assaying and analytical testing, and metallurgical services for the mining and mineral exploration companies. Its testing and consulting services cover the resource life cycle, including exploration, feasibility, optimization, production, design, development, trade, and rehabilitation. This segment also provides coal sampling, analysis and certification, formation evaluation, and related analytical testing services. The Life Sciences segment offers analytical testing and sampling, and remote monitoring services for the environmental, food, pharmaceutical, and consumer products markets; and microbiological, physical, and chemical testing services. This segment provides analytical testing data to assist consulting and engineering firms, industries, and governments. ALS Limited was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.