Head-To-Head Survey: Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) vs. Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) and Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Willdan Group and Brookfield Business Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Willdan Group	7.71%	24.22%	13.15%
Brookfield Business Partners	1.41%	2.67%	0.51%

Risk & Volatility

Willdan Group has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brookfield Business Partners has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.3% of Willdan Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Brookfield Business Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 8.6% of Willdan Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Willdan Group and Brookfield Business Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Willdan Group	0	1	3	0	2.75
Brookfield Business Partners	2	0	6	0	2.50

Willdan Group presently has a consensus target price of $124.33, suggesting a potential upside of 42.13%. Brookfield Business Partners has a consensus target price of $43.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.54%. Given Willdan Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than Brookfield Business Partners.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Willdan Group and Brookfield Business Partners”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Willdan Group	$681.55 million	1.89	$52.56 million	$3.48	25.14
Brookfield Business Partners	$27.46 billion	0.11	-$26.00 million	($0.26)	-133.87

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

Summary

Willdan Group beats Brookfield Business Partners on 10 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 Brookfield Business Partners

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in acquisition. The firm typically invests in business services, infrastructure services, construction, energy, and industrials sector. It prefers to take majority stake in companies. The firm seeks returns of at least 15% on its investments. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. was founded in 2016 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. operates as a subsidiary of Brookfield Corporation.