Head to Head Contrast: Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP) & Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC)

Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC) and Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

48.2% of Quest Resource shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.2% of Concrete Pumping shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.9% of Quest Resource shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.6% of Concrete Pumping shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Quest Resource and Concrete Pumping, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quest Resource	1	2	0	0	1.67
Concrete Pumping	0	3	1	0	2.25

Quest Resource presently has a consensus target price of $2.25, indicating a potential upside of 6.13%. Concrete Pumping has a consensus target price of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 29.98%. Given Concrete Pumping’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Concrete Pumping is more favorable than Quest Resource.

Risk and Volatility

Quest Resource has a beta of 0.14, meaning that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Concrete Pumping has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Quest Resource and Concrete Pumping”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quest Resource	$288.53 million	0.15	-$15.06 million	($1.11)	-1.91
Concrete Pumping	$392.87 million	0.75	$6.37 million	$0.09	64.11

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

Profitability

This table compares Quest Resource and Concrete Pumping’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quest Resource	-8.89%	-12.96%	-3.70%
Concrete Pumping	1.62%	2.85%	0.84%

Summary

Concrete Pumping beats Quest Resource on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quest Resource

Quest Resource Holding Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides solutions for the reuse, recycling, and disposal of various waste streams and recyclables in the United States. The company provides disposal and recycling services for motor oil and automotive lubricants, oil filters, scrap tires, oily water, goods destruction, food waste, meat renderings, cooking oil and grease trap waste, plastics, cardboard, metal, glass, mixed paper, construction debris, as well as a large variety of regulated and non-regulated solid, liquid, and gas wastes. It offers antifreeze and windshield washer fluid, dumpster and compacting equipment, and other minor ancillary services. In addition, the company offers landfill diversion services. Its services focus on the waste streams and recyclables from big box, grocers, and other retailers; automotive maintenance, quick lube, dealerships, and collision repair; transportation, logistics, and internal fleet operators; manufacturing plants; multi-family and commercial properties; restaurant chains and food operations; and construction and demolition projects. The company markets its services to automotive, manufacturing, hospitality and retail, construction and demolition, and commercial and multi-family property management industries through direct sales force and strategic partnerships. The company was formerly known as Infinity Resources Holdings Corp. and changed its name to Quest Resource Holding Corporation in October 2013. Quest Resource Holding Corporation is headquartered in The Colony, Texas.

About Concrete Pumping

Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. provides concrete pumping and waste management services in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company offers concrete pumping services to general contractors and concrete finishing companies in the commercial, infrastructure, and residential sectors under the Brundage-Bone and Capital Pumping brands; and industrial cleanup and containment services primarily to customers in the construction industry under the Eco-Pan brand. It leases and rents concrete pumping equipment, pans, and containers. As of October 31, 2023, the company owned a fleet of approximately 930 boom pumps, 90 placing booms, 20 telebelts, 300 stationary pumps, and 115 waste management trucks. Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.