Contrasting Harte Hanks (HHS) and Its Rivals

Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS) is one of 259 public companies in the “Media” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Harte Hanks to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

33.8% of Harte Hanks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.7% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by institutional investors. 9.6% of Harte Hanks shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.3% of shares of all “Media” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Harte Hanks pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.5%. Harte Hanks pays out -242.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Media” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.0% and pay out 103.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Harte Hanks is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Harte Hanks has a beta of -0.03, indicating that its share price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Harte Hanks’ competitors have a beta of 1.02, indicating that their average share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Harte Hanks and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Harte Hanks	-0.67%	-5.06%	-1.13%
Harte Hanks Competitors	-20.07%	-47.83%	-5.13%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Harte Hanks and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Harte Hanks	1	0	0	0	1.00
Harte Hanks Competitors	2198	6823	10776	467	2.47

As a group, “Media” companies have a potential upside of 15.72%. Given Harte Hanks’ competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Harte Hanks has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Harte Hanks and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Harte Hanks	$155.27 million	-$810,000.00	-17.93
Harte Hanks Competitors	$2.99 billion	-$39.20 million	13.92

Harte Hanks’ competitors have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Harte Hanks. Harte Hanks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Harte Hanks competitors beat Harte Hanks on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Harte Hanks Company Profile

Harte-Hanks, Inc. engages in the provision of marketing solutions. It specializes in consulting, data analytics, creative services, digital and social media, marketing strategy, marketing technology, and other related services. It supports a range of customers in the field of technology, travel and leisure, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, automotive, finance, and retail. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in San Antonio, TX.