SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) and Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) Financial Comparison

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) and SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Exponent and SS&C Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exponent	$582.01 million	5.50	$106.01 million	$2.23	30.18
SS&C Technologies	$6.27 billion	2.94	$796.90 million	$3.48	22.57

SS&C Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Exponent. SS&C Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Exponent, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Exponent and SS&C Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exponent	17.67%	31.48%	15.53%
SS&C Technologies	13.16%	21.20%	7.19%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Exponent and SS&C Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exponent	0	2	2	0	2.50
SS&C Technologies	0	2	7	1	2.90

Exponent currently has a consensus target price of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.36%. SS&C Technologies has a consensus target price of $92.62, indicating a potential upside of 17.95%. Given Exponent’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Exponent is more favorable than SS&C Technologies.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.4% of Exponent shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.9% of SS&C Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Exponent shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of SS&C Technologies shares are owned by 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.

Dividends

Exponent pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. SS&C Technologies pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Exponent pays out 55.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SS&C Technologies pays out 34.5% 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. Exponent has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and SS&C Technologies has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Exponent is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

Exponent has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SS&C Technologies has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SS&C Technologies beats Exponent on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering. The Environmental and Health segment offers services in the areas of chemical regulation and food safety, ecological and biological sciences, environmental and earth sciences, and health sciences. The company offers approximately 90 technical disciplines to solve pressing and complicated challenges facing stakeholders. It serves clients in chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, food, beverage and nutrition, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, technology, industrial equipment, transportation, and other sectors of the economy. The company was formerly known as The Failure Group, Inc. and changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

About SS&C Technologies

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. engages in the development and provision of software solutions to the financial services and healthcare industries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Japan, Canada, and the Americas, excluding the United States and Canada. Its products include advent genesis, antares, asset allocators, AWD, axys, BANC mall, BRIX, DST vision, evare, lightning, and moxy. The company was founded by William Charles Stone in March 1986 and is headquartered in Windsor, CT.