Contrasting SGS (OTCMKTS:SGSOY) & BrightView (NYSE:BV)

BrightView (NYSE:BV) and SGS (OTCMKTS:SGSOY) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.4% of BrightView shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of BrightView shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for BrightView and SGS, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BrightView	1	3	2	2	2.63
SGS	1	2	1	3	2.86

BrightView currently has a consensus price target of $14.70, suggesting a potential upside of 11.08%. Given BrightView’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe BrightView is more favorable than SGS.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BrightView and SGS”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BrightView	$2.67 billion	0.47	$56.00 million	$0.04	330.85
SGS	$7.72 billion	3.04	$659.96 million	N/A	N/A

SGS has higher revenue and earnings than BrightView.

Profitability

This table compares BrightView and SGS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BrightView	2.10%	8.43%	3.21%
SGS	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

BrightView has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SGS has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

BrightView beats SGS on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BrightView

BrightView Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial landscaping services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Maintenance Services and Development Services. The Maintenance Services segment delivers a suite of recurring commercial landscaping services, including mowing, gardening, mulching and snow removal, water management, irrigation maintenance, tree care, golf course maintenance, and specialty turf maintenance. Its customers' properties include corporate and commercial properties, homeowners associations, public parks, hotels and resorts, airport authorities, municipalities, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, educational institutions, restaurants and retail, and golf courses. This segment's customer base includes approximately 8,800 office parks and corporate campuses 7,100 residential communities, and 550 educational institutions. The Development Services segment offers landscape architecture and development services for new facilities and redesign projects. Its services include project design and management services, landscape architecture and installation, irrigation installation, tree moving and installation, pool and water features, sports field, and other services. BrightView Holdings, Inc. also operates as official field consultant to various league baseball. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

About SGS

SGS SA provides inspection, testing, and verification services in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Connectivity & Products, Health & Nutrition, Industries & Environment, Natural Resources, and Business Assurance. The company provides laboratory testing, product inspection and consulting, process assessment, technical and transactional assistance; and automotive, connectivity, softlines and accessories, and hardgoods, toys, and juvenile products, as well as government and trade facilitation services. In addition, it offers a range of testing, inspection and certification solutions for the crop science, food, health science, and cosmetics and hygiene industries; field services, technical assessment, and advisory services; and services related to industrial, public health and safety, environmental testing, and public mandates. Further, it provides assessment, auditing, and certification, supply chain assurance, training, consulting, and sustainability assurance services; agricultural commodities, geochemistry, laboratory testing petroleum and chemicals, metallurgy and consulting, mineral and metal commodities, and oil, gas, and chemical commodities; and sustainability solutions. The company serves the agriculture and food, chemical, construction, consumer and retail, energy, industrial manufacturing, life sciences, mining, oil and gas, public, and transportation sectors. SGS SA was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.