Head-To-Head Analysis: Sodexo (OTCMKTS:SDXAY) & SPAR Group (NASDAQ:SGRP)

Sodexo (OTCMKTS:SDXAY) and SPAR Group (NASDAQ:SGRP) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.6% of SPAR Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Sodexo shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 50.9% of SPAR Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Sodexo has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SPAR Group has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Sodexo and SPAR Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sodexo	N/A	N/A	N/A
SPAR Group	-18.51%	-107.74%	-19.90%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sodexo and SPAR Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sodexo	$26.49 billion	0.31	$765.33 million	N/A	N/A
SPAR Group	$136.10 million	0.12	-$24.63 million	($1.03)	-0.66

Sodexo has higher revenue and earnings than SPAR Group.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Sodexo and SPAR Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sodexo	1	5	1	0	2.00
SPAR Group	1	0	0	0	1.00

Summary

Sodexo beats SPAR Group on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sodexo

Sodexo S.A. provides food services and facilities management services worldwide. It offers various on-site services, which includes corporate services, energy and resources, government and agencies, and other services; healthcare and seniors; and learning solutions to schools and universities. The company also provides food services comprising retail service, food delivery, and meal and food vouchers, as well as digital food ordering services; savings and purchase solutions, data and digital tools, and advisory services and client support; and work-life balance and employee experience solutions. In addition, it offers facility management services, including technical service management, assets management, building maintenance, access control, deep cleaning, energy management, space planning, project management, front-of-house services, grounds maintenance, waste management, HVAC systems, mail management, commercial cleaning, workspace management, and pest control. services. The company was formerly known as Sodexho Alliance and changed its name to Sodexo S.A. in 2008. Sodexo S.A. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

About SPAR Group

SPAR Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides merchandising and brand marketing services in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. The company offers merchandising and marketing services, such as resets and cut-ins; price and inventory audits; stock replenishment and rotation services; out of stock management; promotional event setup; and display management, as well as category management and set up services comprising category and product resets; planogram maintenance; display and shelf services; and point of purchase installation and management. It also provides remodel and retail transformation consisting of store remodels, store department resets, fixture and banner installations, pop-up store services, and store closings; and assembly and installation services, including assembly of merchandise in stores, in-store services, office setup/down-sizing services, and national in-home furniture assembly services. In addition, the company offers business analytics and insights services, such as product dashboards, stock out reporting, visit reporting, real-time service insights, and share of shelf analytics; and fulfillment and distribution services comprising distribution center staffing, point of purchase fulfillment services, kiosk prep, returns processing, picking and packing services, and inventory services. The company serves mass merchandisers; HBAs; pharmacies; and grocery, discount, dollar, convenience, cash and carry, home improvement, consumer electronics, automotive aftermarket, office supply, personal technology, beverage, household products, consumables, financial products, and independent stores. SPAR Group, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan.