Heritage Global (NASDAQ:HGBL) versus HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI) Critical Contrast

Heritage Global (NASDAQ:HGBL) and HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Heritage Global and HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heritage Global	$50.98 million	0.88	$3.59 million	$0.10	12.90
HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital	$234.21 million	22.53	$184.55 million	$0.35	117.38

HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital has higher revenue and earnings than Heritage Global. Heritage Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Heritage Global and HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heritage Global	1	1	1	1	2.50
HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital	0	2	10	0	2.83

Heritage Global presently has a consensus price target of $4.50, suggesting a potential upside of 248.84%. HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital has a consensus price target of $45.90, suggesting a potential upside of 11.73%. Given Heritage Global’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Heritage Global is more favorable than HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital.

Profitability

This table compares Heritage Global and HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heritage Global	6.45%	4.88%	3.70%
HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital	13.08%	12.67%	4.19%

Risk and Volatility

Heritage Global has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.5% of Heritage Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.0% of Heritage Global shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital beats Heritage Global on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Heritage Global

Heritage Global Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset services company with focus on financial and industrial asset transactions. The company operates in three segments: Auction and Liquidation, Refurbishment & Resale, and Brokerage. It provides a suite of market making, acquisitions, refurbishment, dispositions, valuations, and secured lending services. The company focuses on identifying, valuing, acquiring, and monetizing underlying tangible assets. It acts as an adviser, as well as a principal, acquiring, or brokering manufacturing facilities; surplus industrial machinery and equipment; industrial inventories; and charged-off receivable portfolios. The company was formerly known as Counsel RB Capital Inc. and changed its name to Heritage Global, Inc. in August 2013. Heritage Global, Inc. was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital

HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the investment of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable infrastructure markets in the United States. The company’s portfolio includes equity investments, commercial and government receivables, real estate, and debt securities. It invests in climate solutions, including Behind-the-Meter, which distributes energy projects that reduce energy usage or cost through heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as lighting, energy controls, roofs, windows, building shells, and/or combined heat and power systems; Grid-Connected, a renewable energy projects that deploy cleaner energy sources, such as solar, solar-plus-storage, and wind to generate power production; and Fuels, Transport, and Nature, a range of real assets spanning high-emitting economic sectors other than the power grid such as transportation and fuels comprising renewable natural gas plants, transportation fleet enhancements, ecological restoration, and other projects. HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland.