TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) versus Resources Connection (NASDAQ:RGP) Head-To-Head Analysis

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) and Resources Connection (NASDAQ:RGP) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

TrueBlue has a beta of 1.54, meaning that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Resources Connection has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares TrueBlue and Resources Connection’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TrueBlue	-2.21%	-5.74%	-2.62%
Resources Connection	-34.78%	0.31%	0.23%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for TrueBlue and Resources Connection, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TrueBlue	0	0	1	0	3.00
Resources Connection	1	0	0	0	1.00

TrueBlue presently has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 33.89%. Resources Connection has a consensus price target of $5.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.15%. Given TrueBlue’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe TrueBlue is more favorable than Resources Connection.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.2% of TrueBlue shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Resources Connection shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of TrueBlue shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Resources Connection shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares TrueBlue and Resources Connection”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TrueBlue	$1.57 billion	0.11	-$125.75 million	($1.15)	-5.20
Resources Connection	$551.33 million	0.31	-$191.78 million	($5.82)	-0.88

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

Summary

TrueBlue beats Resources Connection on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized workforce solutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Puerto Rico. It operates through three segments: PeopleReady, PeopleManagement, and PeopleScout. The company PeopleReady segment provides general, industrial, and skilled trade contingent staffing services for construction, transportation, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and renewable energy industries. The PeopleManagement segment offers contingent, on-site industrial staffing, and commercial driver services, which includes on-site management and recruitment for the contingent industrial workforce of manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution facilities; and recruitment and management of contingent and dedicated commercial drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Staff Management, SIMOS Insourcing Solutions, and Centerline Drivers brands. The company PeopleScout segment provides recruitment process outsourcing, talent advisory services, and managed service provider solutions including sourcing, screening, hiring, and onboarding services; operates Affinix, a technology platform for sourcing, screening, and delivering a permanent workforce to its clients; talent advisory services, such as employer branding, recruitment marketing, talent insights, diversity, equity and inclusion consulting, candidate assessment, and talent acquisition strategy consulting services; and contingent labor programs including vendor selection, performance management, compliance monitoring, and risk management. TrueBlue, Inc. was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. The company was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

About Resources Connection

Resources Connection, Inc. provides consulting services to business customers under the Resources Global Professionals name in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers services in the areas of transactions, including integration and divestitures, bankruptcy/restructuring, going public readiness and support, financial process optimization, and system implementation; and regulations, such as accounting regulations, internal audit and compliance, data privacy and security, healthcare compliance, and regulatory compliance. It provides transformations services comprising finance transformation, digital transformation, supply chain management, cloud migration, and data design and analytics. The company was formerly known as RC Transaction Corp. and changed its name to Resources Connection, Inc. in August 2000. Resources Connection, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.