Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYA – Get Free Report) and SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Kelly Services and SS&C Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Kelly Services | -6.73% | 2.69% | 1.19% |
| SS&C Technologies | 13.16% | 21.20% | 7.19% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Kelly Services and SS&C Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Kelly Services | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| SS&C Technologies | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2.80 |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Kelly Services and SS&C Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Kelly Services | $4.25 billion | 0.13 | -$254.10 million | ($7.81) | -2.10 |
| SS&C Technologies | $6.56 billion | 2.84 | $796.90 million | $3.48 | 22.80 |
SS&C Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Kelly Services. Kelly Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SS&C Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
76.3% of Kelly Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.9% of SS&C Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Kelly Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of SS&C Technologies 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.
Risk & Volatility
Kelly Services has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SS&C Technologies has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Kelly Services pays an annual dividend of $0.30 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%. Kelly Services pays out -3.8% 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. SS&C Technologies has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Kelly Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary
SS&C Technologies beats Kelly Services on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Kelly Services
Kelly Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides workforce solutions to various industries. The company operates through five segments: Professional & Industrial; Science, Engineering & Technology; Education; Outsourcing & Consulting; and International. The Professional & Industrial segment delivers staffing, outcome-based, and permanent placement services providing administrative, accounting, and finance; light industrial; contact center staffing; and other workforce solutions. The Science, Engineering & Technology segment offers staffing, outcome-based, and permanent placement services in the areas of science and clinical research, engineering, technology, and telecommunications specialties. The Education segment provides staffing, permanent placement, and executive search services to pre-K-12 school districts and education organizations. The Outsourcing & Consulting segment offers managed service provider, recruitment process outsourcing, payroll process outsourcing, and executive coaching programs to customers on a global basis that includes its RocketPower brand. The International segment provides staffing, recruitment process outsourcing, and permanent placement services. The company serves customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Russia, Italy, rest of Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Kelly Services, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Troy, Michigan.
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.
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