International Card Establishment (OTCMKTS:ICRD) & Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Critical Survey

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for International Card Establishment and Willdan Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Card Establishment	0	0	0	0	0.00
Willdan Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

Willdan Group has a consensus price target of $112.67, suggesting a potential upside of 45.71%. Given Willdan Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than International Card Establishment.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Card Establishment	N/A	N/A	N/A
Willdan Group	7.71%	23.34%	12.78%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares International Card Establishment and Willdan Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Card Establishment	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Willdan Group	$681.55 million	1.67	$52.56 million	$3.48	22.22

Willdan Group has higher revenue and earnings than International Card Establishment.

Volatility and Risk

International Card Establishment has a beta of 13.29, suggesting that its stock price is 1,229% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Willdan Group has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Willdan Group beats International Card Establishment on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Card Establishment

International Card Establishment, Inc. provides merchant services in the United States. It offers payment processing services for brick and mortar merchants; proprietary gift and loyalty program; gift cards with customized artwork; various merchant terminals and accessories; leasing program; customer support; and agent program. The company is headquartered in Camarillo, California.

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.