Comparing Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) & APi Group (NYSE:APG)

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) and APi Group (NYSE:APG) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.3% of Willdan Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.6% of APi Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of Willdan Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.0% of APi Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Willdan Group and APi Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Willdan Group	$565.80 million	2.49	$22.57 million	$2.39	40.26
APi Group	$7.02 billion	2.06	$250.00 million	$0.32	108.54

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Willdan Group and APi Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Willdan Group	0	1	3	0	2.75
APi Group	0	2	8	0	2.80

Willdan Group presently has a consensus price target of $111.50, suggesting a potential upside of 15.88%. APi Group has a consensus price target of $36.10, suggesting a potential upside of 3.92%. Given Willdan Group’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than APi Group.

Volatility and Risk

Willdan Group has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, APi Group has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Willdan Group	5.60%	18.60%	9.65%
APi Group	3.35%	21.33%	7.80%

Summary

APi Group beats Willdan Group on 9 of the 14 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 APi Group

APi Group Corporation provides safety and specialty services worldwide. It operates through Safety Services and Specialty Services segments. The Safety Services segment offers solutions focusing on end-to-end integrated occupancy systems, such as fire protection services; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions; and entry systems, which include the design, installation, inspection, and service of these integrated systems. The Specialty Services segment provides various infrastructure and specialized industrial plant services, including maintenance and repair of underground electric, gas, water, sewer, and telecommunications infrastructure. This segment offers engineering and design, fabrication, installation, maintenance service and repair, retrofitting and upgrading services, pipeline infrastructure, access and road construction, supporting facilities, and integrity management and maintenance to the energy industry. It serves customers in the public and private sectors, including commercial, industrial, distribution and fulfillment centers, manufacturing, education, healthcare, telecom, utilities, transmission and integrity, high tech, entertainment, government, and infrastructure markets. The company was formerly known as J2 Acquisition Limited and changed its name to APi Group Corporation in October 2019. APi Group Corporation was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in New Brighton, Minnesota.