BrightView (NYSE:BV) and Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Critical Contrast

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

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BrightView	$2.67 billion	0.42	$56.00 million	($0.02)	-591.75
Willdan Group	$681.55 million	1.72	$52.56 million	$3.48	22.84

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BrightView	1.90%	7.85%	2.98%
Willdan Group	7.71%	23.34%	12.78%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.4% of BrightView shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.3% of Willdan Group shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of BrightView shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Willdan Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

BrightView has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Willdan Group has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for BrightView and Willdan Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BrightView	3	2	2	2	2.33
Willdan Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

BrightView currently has a consensus target price of $14.68, suggesting a potential upside of 24.07%. Willdan Group has a consensus target price of $124.33, suggesting a potential upside of 56.41%. Given Willdan Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than BrightView.

Summary

Willdan Group beats BrightView on 10 of the 15 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 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.