ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI – Get Free Report) and Maximus (NYSE:MMS – Get Free Report) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.
Dividends
ICF International pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Maximus pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. ICF International pays out 9.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Maximus pays out 23.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Maximus has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Maximus is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for ICF International and Maximus, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
ICF International | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60 |
Maximus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares ICF International and Maximus”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
ICF International | $2.02 billion | 0.81 | $110.17 million | $5.83 | 15.25 |
Maximus | $5.31 billion | 0.76 | $306.91 million | $5.03 | 14.30 |
Maximus has higher revenue and earnings than ICF International. Maximus is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ICF International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
94.1% of ICF International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Maximus shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of ICF International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Maximus shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares ICF International and Maximus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
ICF International | 5.45% | 14.84% | 7.02% |
Maximus | 5.56% | 23.37% | 9.95% |
Volatility and Risk
ICF International has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Maximus has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Maximus beats ICF International on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About ICF International
ICF International, Inc. provides management, technology, and policy consulting and implementation services to government and commercial clients in the United States and internationally. The company researches critical policy, industry, stakeholder issues, trends, and behaviors; measures and evaluates results and their impact; and provides strategic planning and advisory services to its clients on how to navigate societal, business, market, business, communication, and technology challenges. It also identifies, defines, and implements policies, plans, programs, and business tools through a range of standard and customized methodologies for its clients' business context; conducts survey research; collects and analyzes various data to understand critical issues and options for its clients; and provides actionable business intelligence, as well as information and data management solutions that allow integrated and purpose-driven data usage. In addition, the company provides solutions to optimize the customer and citizen experience; modernizes IT systems; and cyber security solutions that support the range of cyber security missions and protect IT infrastructures in the face of relentless threats, as well as designs, develops, and implements technology systems and business tools that are key to its clients' mission or business performance. Further, it informs and engages its clients' constituents, customers, and employees through public relations, branding and marketing, multichannel and strategic communications, and reputation issues management. The company serves energy, environment, infrastructure, and disaster recovery; health and social programs; and security and other civilian and commercial markets. The company was formerly known as ICF Consulting Group Holdings, LLC and changed its name to ICF International, Inc. in 2006. ICF International, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.
About Maximus
Maximus, Inc. operates as a provider of government services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, U.S. Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers program eligibility support and enrollment; centralized multilingual customer contact centers, multichannel, and digital self-service options for enrollment; application assistance and independent health plan choice counseling; beneficiary outreach, education, eligibility, enrollment, and redeterminations; and person-centered independent disability, long-term sick, and other health assessments. This segment also provides employment services, such as eligibility support, case management, job-readiness preparation, job search and employer outreach, job retention and career advancement, and educational and training services; technology solutions; system implementation project management services; and specialized consulting services. The U.S. Federal Services segment offers Business process services, eligibility and enrollment, outreach, and other services for federal health and human services programs; clinical services; and technology solutions, including application development and modernization services, enterprise business solutions, advanced analytics and emerging technologies, cybersecurity services, and infrastructure and engineering solutions. The Outside the U.S. segment offers BPS solutions for international governments, including health and disability assessments, program administration for employment services, wellbeing solutions, and other job seeker-related services. Maximus, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.
Receive News & Ratings for ICF International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ICF International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.