Financial Comparison: Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) and DHI Group (NYSE:DHX)

Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) and DHI Group (NYSE:DHX) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Advantage Solutions and DHI Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advantage Solutions	-1.35%	-4.51%	-1.31%
DHI Group	2.30%	3.78%	1.73%

Volatility and Risk

Advantage Solutions has a beta of 1.59, indicating that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DHI Group has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

49.8% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.3% of DHI Group shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of DHI Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Advantage Solutions and DHI Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advantage Solutions	0	2	2	0	2.50
DHI Group	0	0	1	0	3.00

Advantage Solutions currently has a consensus target price of $3.43, suggesting a potential downside of 19.41%. DHI Group has a consensus target price of $6.67, suggesting a potential upside of 189.86%. Given DHI Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe DHI Group is more favorable than Advantage Solutions.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Advantage Solutions and DHI Group’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advantage Solutions	$4.22 billion	0.32	-$63.26 million	($0.20)	-21.30
DHI Group	$151.88 million	0.73	$3.49 million	$0.08	28.75

DHI Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Advantage Solutions. Advantage Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than DHI Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

DHI Group beats Advantage Solutions on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc. provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services. This segment also provides retailer-centric services comprising retailer-centric merchandising and in-store media services. The Marketing segment offers brand-centric services, including shopper and consumer marketing, and brand experiential services; retailer-centric services, such as retail experiential and private label services; and digital marketing, and digital media and advertising services. The company was formerly known as Karman Holding Corp. and changed its name to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About DHI Group

DHI Group, Inc. provides data, insights, and employment connections through specialized services for technology professionals and other select online communities in the United States. Its solutions include talent profiles; job postings; employer branding; and other services comprising virtual and live career events, sourcing services, and content and data services that provides tailored content to help professionals manage their careers and provide employers insight into recruiting strategies and trends. The company operates Dice that offers job postings of technology and non-technology companies for industries, such as positions for software engineers, big data professionals, systems administrators, database specialists, project managers, and various other technology and engineering professionals; and ClearanceJobs, an online career community, which matches security-cleared professionals with employers in a secure and private environment to fill the jobs that safeguard its nation. It serves small, mid-sized, and large direct employers; staffing companies; recruiting agencies; staffing and consulting firms; and marketing departments of companies, as well as direct hiring companies. The company offers its products and services primarily through its direct sales force and agency partner channel. The company was formerly known as Dice Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to DHI Group, Inc. in April 2015. DHI Group, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.