Contrasting TSS (OTCMKTS:TSSI) and Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR)

TSS (OTCMKTS:TSSI) and Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR) are both small-cap construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

TSS has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Issuer Direct has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

50.0% of Issuer Direct shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.6% of TSS shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.1% of Issuer Direct shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares TSS and Issuer Direct’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TSS	-3.43%	-50.72%	-3.91%
Issuer Direct	2.29%	10.90%	5.82%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares TSS and Issuer Direct’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TSS	$30.64 million	0.46	-$70,000.00	($0.08)	-7.75
Issuer Direct	$33.38 million	1.54	$770,000.00	$0.20	67.10

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for TSS and Issuer Direct, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TSS	0	0	0	0	N/A
Issuer Direct	0	0	0	0	N/A

Issuer Direct has a consensus target price of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 101.19%. Given Issuer Direct’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Issuer Direct is more favorable than TSS.

Summary

Issuer Direct beats TSS on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TSS

TSS, Inc. provides comprehensive services for the planning, design, deployment, maintenance, and refurbishment of end-user and enterprise systems, and mission-critical facilities in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Facilities and Systems Integration. It offers a single source solution for enabling technologies in data centers, operations centers, network facilities, server rooms, security operations centers, communications facilities, and the infrastructure systems. The company also provides technology consulting, design and engineering, project management, systems integration, systems installation, facilities management, and IT procurement and reseller services. It serves IT OEM equipment, technology, and service companies; private sector businesses; and government or commercial end users. The company was formerly known as Fortress International Group, Inc. and changed its name to TSS, Inc. in June 2013. TSS, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas.

About Issuer Direct

Issuer Direct Corporation operates as a communications and compliance company, provides solutions for both public relations and investor relations professionals in the United States and internationally. The company provides press release distribution, media databases, media monitoring, and newsrooms through media advantage platform; ACCESSWIRE, a news dissemination and media outreach service; and VisualWebcaster Platform, a cloud-based webcast, webinar, and virtual meeting platform that delivers live and on-demand streaming of events to audiences of various sizes, as well as allows customers to create, produce, and deliver events. It also offers professional conference and events software, a mobile app that offers organizers, issuers, and investors to register, request, and approve one-on-one meetings, as well as manage schedules, perform event promotion and sponsorship, print attendee badges, and manage lodging; and investor relations content network, a series of data feeds, which include news feeds, stock feeds, fundamentals, regulatory filings, corporate governance, and other components. In addition, the company provides whistleblower hotline, a system that delivers secure notifications and basic incident workflow management processes that align with a company's corporate governance whistleblower policy; stock transfer module, which offers access to real-time information about their shareholders, stock ledgers, and reports, as well as issues new shares; and proxy module, a real-time voting platform for customers and their shareholders of record. It serves public and private companies, mutual funds, law firms, brokerage firms, investment banks, individuals, and other institutions. Issuer Direct Corporation was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.