Head-To-Head Analysis: The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) vs. Gartner (NYSE:IT)

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) and Gartner (NYSE:IT) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares The Hackett Group and Gartner”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Hackett Group	$313.86 million	2.24	$29.63 million	$0.85	29.93
Gartner	$6.30 billion	4.88	$1.25 billion	$16.07	24.83

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

Profitability

This table compares The Hackett Group and Gartner’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Hackett Group	7.64%	30.51%	17.74%
Gartner	19.82%	96.70%	13.68%

Volatility and Risk

The Hackett Group has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gartner has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for The Hackett Group and Gartner, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Hackett Group	0	1	3	0	2.75
Gartner	1	3	5	0	2.44

The Hackett Group currently has a consensus target price of $31.33, indicating a potential upside of 23.17%. Gartner has a consensus target price of $515.89, indicating a potential upside of 29.27%. Given Gartner’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Gartner is more favorable than The Hackett Group.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.1% of The Hackett Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of Gartner shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of The Hackett Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Gartner shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Gartner beats The Hackett Group on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group, Inc. operates as an intellectual property-based executive advisory, strategic consulting, and digital transformation company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation, Oracle Solutions, and SAP Solutions. It offers Hackett Connect, an online searchable repository; best practice accelerators that provide web-based access to best practices, customized software configuration tools, and best practice process flows; advisor inquiry for access to fact-based advice on proven approaches and methods; best practice research that provides insights into the proven approaches; and peer interaction comprising member-led webcasts, annual best practice conferences, annual member forums, membership performance surveys, and client-submitted content, as well as IP-as-a-service and Hackett Institute programs. The company also provides benchmarking services that conduct studies for selling, general and administrative, finance, human resources, information technology, procurement, enterprise performance management, and shared services; and business transformation practices which help clients develop a coordinated digital transformation strategy. In addition, it offers oracle solutions that help clients to choose and deploy oracle applications that best meet their needs and objectives. Further, the company provides SAP solutions, including planning, architecture, and vendor evaluation and selection through implementation, customization, testing, and integration; post-implementation support, change and exception management, process transparency, system documentation, and end-user training; and off-shore application development, and application maintenance and support services. The company was formerly known as Answerthink, Inc. and changed its name to The Hackett Group, Inc. in 2008. The Hackett Group, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. operates as a research and advisory company in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research, Conferences, and Consulting. The Research segment delivers its research primarily through a subscription service that include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of research experts. The Conferences segment offers executives and teams in an organization the opportunity to learn, share, and network. The Consulting segment offers market-leading research, custom analysis, and on-the-ground support services. This segment also offers actionable solutions for IT-related priorities, including IT cost optimization, digital transformation, and IT sourcing optimization. Gartner, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.