Reviewing Caldwell Partners International (OTCMKTS:CWLPF) & Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Caldwell Partners International (OTCMKTS:CWLPF) and Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

8.7% of Caldwell Partners International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.8% of Barrett Business Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of Barrett Business Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Caldwell Partners International and Barrett Business Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Caldwell Partners International	N/A	N/A	N/A
Barrett Business Services	4.50%	25.69%	6.93%

Dividends

Caldwell Partners International pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Barrett Business Services pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Caldwell Partners International pays out 80.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Barrett Business Services pays out 17.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Caldwell Partners International and Barrett Business Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Caldwell Partners International	0	0	0	0	N/A
Barrett Business Services	0	1	2	0	2.67

Barrett Business Services has a consensus target price of $39.67, suggesting a potential upside of 6.75%. Given Barrett Business Services’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Barrett Business Services is more favorable than Caldwell Partners International.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Caldwell Partners International and Barrett Business Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Caldwell Partners International	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.09	9.20
Barrett Business Services	$1.10 billion	0.89	$50.61 million	$1.82	20.42

Barrett Business Services has higher revenue and earnings than Caldwell Partners International. Caldwell Partners International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Barrett Business Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Barrett Business Services beats Caldwell Partners International on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Caldwell Partners International

The Caldwell Partners International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides candidate research and sourcing services in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. The company offers retained executive and board search solutions; professional search; on-demand talent acquisition augmentation solutions; and talent strategy and assessment tools. The company offers its services under the Caldwell and IQTalent brand names. It serves real estate, consumer and commercial banking, academic, non-profit, social enterprise, culture, retail, financial services, industrial, insurance, life science, healthcare, private equity and venture capital, professional services, and technology sectors. The Caldwell Partners International Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc. provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry. It offers professional employer services under which it enters into a client services agreement to establish a co-employment relationship with each client company, assuming responsibility for payroll, payroll taxes, workers compensation coverage, and other administration functions for the client’s existing workforce. The company provides staffing and recruiting services, such as on-demand or short-term staffing assignment, contract staffing, direct placement, and long-term or indefinite-term on-site management services. It serves electronics manufacturers, light-manufacturing industries, agriculture-based companies, transportation and shipping enterprises, food processors, telecommunications companies, public utilities, general contractors in various construction-related fields, restaurant franchises, and professional services firms. Barrett Business Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.