Head-To-Head Review: Itex (OTCMKTS:ITEX) & Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU)

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) and Itex (OTCMKTS:ITEX) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Dividends

Brookfield Business Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Itex pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.0%. Brookfield Business Partners pays out -96.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Brookfield Business Partners and Itex”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brookfield Business Partners	$27.46 billion	0.10	-$26.00 million	($0.26)	-125.12
Itex	$5.44 million	0.87	$500,000.00	N/A	N/A

Itex has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Brookfield Business Partners.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brookfield Business Partners	1.41%	2.67%	0.51%
Itex	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Brookfield Business Partners has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Itex has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.0% of Brookfield Business Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 32.0% of Itex shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Brookfield Business Partners and Itex, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brookfield Business Partners	2	0	6	0	2.50
Itex	0	0	0	0	0.00

Brookfield Business Partners presently has a consensus price target of $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.19%. Given Brookfield Business Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Brookfield Business Partners is more favorable than Itex.

Summary

Brookfield Business Partners beats Itex on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Itex

ITEX Corporation operates a marketplace in which products and services are exchanged by marketplace members without exchanging cash in the United States. The company’s marketplace provides a forum for members to purchase from and sell their products and services to other members using ITEX dollars instead of United States dollars. It also administers the marketplace, as well as provides record-keeping and payment transaction processing services. In addition, the company services its member businesses through its independent licensed brokers and franchise network. ITEX Corporation was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.