Head-To-Head Comparison: Gartner (NYSE:IT) vs. Veritec (OTCMKTS:VRTC)

Gartner (NYSE:IT – Get Rating) and Veritec (OTCMKTS:VRTC – Get Rating) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Gartner and Veritec’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gartner	14.75%	2,645.96%	13.34%
Veritec	-201.65%	N/A	-460.19%

Risk and Volatility

Gartner has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veritec has a beta of -21.4, meaning that its stock price is 2,240% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Gartner and Veritec, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gartner	0	4	3	0	2.43
Veritec	0	0	0	0	N/A

Gartner currently has a consensus target price of $359.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.68%. Given Gartner’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Gartner is more favorable than Veritec.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.9% of Gartner shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of Gartner shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 51.8% of Veritec shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Gartner and Veritec’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gartner	$5.48 billion	4.37	$807.80 million	$9.99	30.28
Veritec	$350,000.00	2.29	-$510,000.00	($0.03)	-0.67

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

Summary

Gartner beats Veritec on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gartner

(Get Rating)

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory company, which equips business leaders with insights, advice, and tools that help build organizations. It operates through the following segments: Research, Consulting, and Conferences. The Research segment provides executives with objective insights and advice through reports, briefings, proprietary tools, access to the firm’s research experts, peer networking services, and membership programs. The Consulting segment offers customized solutions to unique client needs through on-site, day-to-day support, and proprietary tools for measuring and improving IT performance. The Conferences segment offers business professionals the opportunity to learn, share, and network through conferences and peer-driven sessions. The company was founded by Gideon I. Gartner and Dave L. R. Stein in 1979 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.

About Veritec

(Get Rating)

Veritec, Inc. engages in the development, sales, and licensing of products. It also provides services related to mobile banking solutions. The firm also operates in back-end cardholder transaction processing services for visa-branded card programs on behalf of its sponsoring bank. The company was founded on September 8, 1982 and is headquartered in Golden Valley, MN.