Head to Head Contrast: First Advantage (NYSE:FA) and Exela Technologies (NASDAQ:XELA)

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) and Exela Technologies (NASDAQ:XELA) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares First Advantage and Exela Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Advantage	0.65%	13.16%	7.33%
Exela Technologies	-4.87%	N/A	-8.48%

Volatility & Risk

First Advantage has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exela Technologies has a beta of 1.96, suggesting that its share price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Advantage and Exela Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Advantage	$1.25 billion	2.38	$37.29 million	($0.92)	-18.61
Exela Technologies	$1.02 billion	0.00	-$125.16 million	($8.57)	0.00

First Advantage has higher revenue and earnings than Exela Technologies. First Advantage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Exela Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for First Advantage and Exela Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Advantage	0	5	2	0	2.29
Exela Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00

First Advantage currently has a consensus target price of $20.25, suggesting a potential upside of 18.28%. Given First Advantage’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Advantage is more favorable than Exela Technologies.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.9% of First Advantage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.3% of Exela Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Advantage shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Exela Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Advantage beats Exela Technologies on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products. The company also provides post-onboarding solutions, including criminal records monitoring, healthcare sanctions, motor vehicle records, social media screening, and global sanctions and licenses; and other products comprising fleet/vehicle compliance, hiring tax credits and incentives, resident/tenant screening, and investigative research. Its products and solutions are used by personnel in recruiting, human resources, risk, compliance, vendor management, safety, and/or security in global enterprises, mid-sized, and small companies. The company was formerly known as Fastball Intermediate, Inc. and changed its name to First Advantage Corporation in March 2021. First Advantage Corporation was founded in 2002 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Exela Technologies

Exela Technologies, Inc. (Exela), formerly Quinpario Acquisition Corp. 2, is engaged in providing information and transaction processing solutions. The Company’s segments include Information and Transaction Processing Solutions (ITPS), Healthcare Solutions (HS) and Legal & Loss Prevention Services (LLPS). ITPS provides industry solutions for banking and financial services, including lending solutions for mortgages, banking solutions for clearing, anti-money laundering, sanctions, cross-border settlement; property and casualty insurance solutions for enrollments, and communications. The HS segment offerings include integrated accounts payable and accounts receivable, and information management for both the healthcare payer and provider markets. The LLPS segment solutions include processing of legal claims for class action and mass action settlement administrations, involving project management support, notification and collection, analysis, and distribution of settlement funds.