TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) versus Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYB) Financial Contrast

TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) and Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYB) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

TransUnion has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kelly Services has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares TransUnion and Kelly Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TransUnion	$4.58 billion	3.55	$455.40 million	$3.79	22.37
Kelly Services	$4.25 billion	0.17	-$254.10 million	($7.81)	-2.70

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for TransUnion and Kelly Services, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TransUnion	0	6	10	0	2.62
Kelly Services	1	0	0	0	1.00

TransUnion currently has a consensus target price of $94.38, suggesting a potential upside of 11.31%. Given TransUnion’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe TransUnion is more favorable than Kelly Services.

Profitability

This table compares TransUnion and Kelly Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TransUnion	15.08%	16.29%	6.67%
Kelly Services	-6.73%	2.69%	1.19%

Dividends

TransUnion pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Kelly Services pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. TransUnion pays out 13.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kelly Services pays out -3.8% 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. TransUnion has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Kelly Services is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.2% of Kelly Services shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of TransUnion shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 93.1% of Kelly Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

TransUnion beats Kelly Services on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TransUnion

TransUnion operates as a global consumer credit reporting agency that provides risk and information solutions. The company operates through U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive segments. The U.S. Markets segment provides consumer reports, actionable insights, and analytic services to businesses, which uses its services to acquire new customers; assess consumer ability to pay for services; identify cross-selling opportunities; measure and manage debt portfolio risk; collect debt; verify consumer identities; and mitigate fraud risk. This segment serves various industry vertical markets, including financial services, technology, commerce and communications, insurance, media, services and collections, tenant and employment, and public sectors. The International segment offers credit reports, analytics, technology solutions, and other value-added risk management services; consumer services, which help consumers to manage their personal finances; consumer credit reporting, insurance and auto information solutions, and commercial credit information services. It serves customers in financial services, retail credit, insurance, automotive, collections, public sector, and communications industries through direct and indirect channels. The company was formerly known as TransUnion Holding Company, Inc. and changed its name to TransUnion in March 2015. TransUnion was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc. engages in staffing and workforce solutions. It operates through the following segments: Americas Staffing, Global Talent Solutions, and International Staffing. The Americas Staffing segment delivers temporary staffing, as well as direct-hire placement services, in a number of specialty staffing services, including office, education, marketing, electronic assembly, light industrial, science, engineering, and information technology in United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The Global Talent Solutions segment offers outsourcing, consulting, and centrally delivered staffing business. The International Staffing segment relates to branch-delivered staffing business in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, as well as in the Asia Pacific. The company was founded by William Russell Kelly on October 7, 1946 and is headquartered in Troy, MI.