CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP – Get Free Report) and SecureAlert (OTCMKTS:TRCK – Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.
Volatility & Risk
CoStar Group has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SecureAlert has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for CoStar Group and SecureAlert, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CoStar Group | 2 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 2.53 |
| SecureAlert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Profitability
This table compares CoStar Group and SecureAlert’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CoStar Group | 0.23% | 2.53% | 2.04% |
| SecureAlert | 1.80% | -33.67% | 10.00% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares CoStar Group and SecureAlert”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CoStar Group | $3.25 billion | 5.18 | $7.00 million | $0.01 | 4,004.00 |
| SecureAlert | $35.22 million | 0.24 | -$1.88 million | $0.05 | 14.00 |
CoStar Group has higher revenue and earnings than SecureAlert. SecureAlert is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CoStar Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
96.6% of CoStar Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.8% of SecureAlert shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of CoStar Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of SecureAlert shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
CoStar Group beats SecureAlert on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About CoStar Group
CoStar Group, Inc. provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information. It also provides Leasing, a tool to capture, manage, and maintain lease data; CoStar Lease Analysis; Public Record, a searchable database of commercially zoned parcels; CoStar Real Estate Manager, a real estate lease administration, portfolio management, and lease accounting compliance software solution; and CoStar Risk Analytics and CoStar Investment. In addition, it offers apartment marketing sites, such as ApartmentFinder.com, ForRent.com, ApartmentHomeLiving.com, WestsideRentals.com, AFTER55.com, CorporateHousing.com, ForRentUniversity.com, Apartamentos.com, and Off Campus Partners; LoopNet Premium Lister; LoopNet Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Ads; LandsofAmerica.com, LandAndFarm.com, and LandWatch.com for rural land for-sale; BizBuySell.com, BizQuest.com, and FindaFranchise.com for operating businesses and franchises for-sale; Ten-X, an online auction platform for commercial real estate; and HomeSnap, an online and mobile software platform, as well as Homes.com, a homes for sale listings site. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.
About SecureAlert
Track Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets location tracking devices in the United States, Latin America, and internationally. The company's products include ReliAlert XC4, a GPS monitoring device; and ReliAlert XC 3, which enables agencies to track offender movements and communicate directly with offenders in real-time through on-board two/three-way voice communication technology. It also provides IntelliTrack, a secure state of the art device-agnostic platform; IntelliTrack Mobile, a mobile application of the Intellitrack software is available for Android and iOS devices; TrackerPAL, a cloud-based monitoring system; TrackerPAL Mobile, a mobile application of the TrackerPAL software for Android and iOS devices; data analytics services; and BACtrack, a smartphone-based remote alcohol monitoring system. In addition, the company offers Empower smartphone application that provides victim and survivor support by creating a mobile geo-zone around a survivor of domestic abuse and communicates with the offender's tracking device; Socrates 360, a platform that offers various content and service; SecureCuff steel bands; and RF Beacon, a self-contained and short-range transmitting station that provides a radio frequency signal communicating with assigned offender GPS devices, as well as product support services. Further, the company develops and sells various related software, services, accessories, networking solutions, and monitoring applications. The company was formerly known as SecureAlert, Inc. and changed its name to Track Group, Inc. in May 2015. Track Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.
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