TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) versus KBR (NYSE:KBR) Critical Analysis

KBR (NYSE:KBR) and TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares KBR and TrueBlue”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KBR	$7.79 billion	0.60	$415.00 million	$3.32	11.09
TrueBlue	$1.62 billion	0.16	-$47.96 million	($1.88)	-4.39

KBR has higher revenue and earnings than TrueBlue. TrueBlue is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KBR, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.0% of KBR shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of TrueBlue shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of KBR shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of TrueBlue shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares KBR and TrueBlue’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KBR	5.49%	32.55%	7.62%
TrueBlue	-3.35%	-6.26%	-2.65%

Volatility & Risk

KBR has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TrueBlue has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for KBR and TrueBlue, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KBR	0	5	3	0	2.38
TrueBlue	1	1	1	0	2.00

KBR currently has a consensus target price of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.27%. TrueBlue has a consensus target price of $7.75, suggesting a potential downside of 6.20%. Given KBR’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe KBR is more favorable than TrueBlue.

Summary

KBR beats TrueBlue on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KBR

KBR, Inc. provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Its services cover research and development, advanced prototyping, acquisition support, systems engineering, cyber analytics, space domain awareness, test and evaluation, systems integration and program management, global supply chain management, and operations readiness and support, as well as command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services. This segment also provides various professional advisory services to the defense, renewable energy, and critical infrastructure sectors. The Sustainable Technology Solutions segment operates portfolio of various proprietary process technologies for ammonia/syngas, chemical/petrochemicals, clean refining, and circular process/circular economy solutions. This segment also provides synergistic services, including advisory and consulting focused on broad-based energy transition and net-zero carbon emission solutions; high-end engineering, design and program management centered around decarbonization, energy efficiency, environmental impact and asset optimization; and digitally-enabled operating and monitoring solutions. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized workforce solutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Puerto Rico. It operates through three segments: PeopleReady, PeopleManagement, and PeopleScout. The company PeopleReady segment provides general, industrial, and skilled trade contingent staffing services for construction, transportation, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and renewable energy industries. The PeopleManagement segment offers contingent, on-site industrial staffing, and commercial driver services, which includes on-site management and recruitment for the contingent industrial workforce of manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution facilities; and recruitment and management of contingent and dedicated commercial drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Staff Management, SIMOS Insourcing Solutions, and Centerline Drivers brands. The company PeopleScout segment provides recruitment process outsourcing, talent advisory services, and managed service provider solutions including sourcing, screening, hiring, and onboarding services; operates Affinix, a technology platform for sourcing, screening, and delivering a permanent workforce to its clients; talent advisory services, such as employer branding, recruitment marketing, talent insights, diversity, equity and inclusion consulting, candidate assessment, and talent acquisition strategy consulting services; and contingent labor programs including vendor selection, performance management, compliance monitoring, and risk management. TrueBlue, Inc. was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. The company was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.