Contrasting Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) & Sodexo (OTCMKTS:SDXAY)

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

Volatility & Risk

Sodexo has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Willdan Group has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sodexo	N/A	N/A	N/A
Willdan Group	6.37%	20.23%	10.79%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Sodexo and Willdan Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sodexo	1	10	0	0	1.91
Willdan Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

Willdan Group has a consensus price target of $124.33, suggesting a potential downside of 2.99%. Given Willdan Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than Sodexo.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.3% of Willdan Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Sodexo shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Willdan Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sodexo and Willdan Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sodexo	$26.49 billion	0.29	$765.33 million	N/A	N/A
Willdan Group	$565.80 million	3.34	$22.57 million	$2.78	46.10

Sodexo has higher revenue and earnings than Willdan Group.

Summary

Willdan Group beats Sodexo on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sodexo

Sodexo S.A. provides food services and facilities management services worldwide. It offers various on-site services, which includes corporate services, energy and resources, government and agencies, and other services; healthcare and seniors; and learning solutions to schools and universities. The company also provides food services comprising retail service, food delivery, and meal and food vouchers, as well as digital food ordering services; savings and purchase solutions, data and digital tools, and advisory services and client support; and work-life balance and employee experience solutions. In addition, it offers facility management services, including technical service management, assets management, building maintenance, access control, deep cleaning, energy management, space planning, project management, front-of-house services, grounds maintenance, waste management, HVAC systems, mail management, commercial cleaning, workspace management, and pest control. services. The company was formerly known as Sodexho Alliance and changed its name to Sodexo S.A. in 2008. Sodexo S.A. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

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.