Analyzing Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) & Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU)

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) and Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.0% of Brookfield Business Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.3% of Willdan Group shares are held by institutional investors. 8.6% of Willdan Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Brookfield Business Partners and Willdan Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brookfield Business Partners	1.41%	2.67%	0.51%
Willdan Group	7.71%	24.22%	13.15%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brookfield Business Partners and Willdan Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brookfield Business Partners	$27.46 billion	0.11	-$26.00 million	($0.26)	-131.29
Willdan Group	$681.55 million	1.93	$22.57 million	$2.78	32.06

Willdan Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Brookfield Business Partners. Brookfield Business Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Willdan Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Brookfield Business Partners has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Willdan Group has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Brookfield Business Partners and Willdan Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brookfield Business Partners	2	0	6	0	2.50
Willdan Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

Brookfield Business Partners presently has a consensus target price of $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.97%. Willdan Group has a consensus target price of $124.33, indicating a potential upside of 39.48%. Given Willdan Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than Brookfield Business Partners.

Summary

Willdan Group beats Brookfield Business Partners on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brookfield Business Partners

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in acquisition. The firm typically invests in business services, infrastructure services, construction, energy, and industrials sector. It prefers to take majority stake in companies. The firm seeks returns of at least 15% on its investments. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. was founded in 2016 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. operates as a subsidiary of Brookfield Corporation.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services. The Engineering and Consulting segment provides building and safety, city engineering and code enforcement, development plan review and inspection, disaster recovery, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, planning and surveying, contract staff support, program and construction management, structural engineering, transportation and traffic engineering, and water resources services. This segment also offers district administration, financial consulting, and federal compliance services. It serves public and governmental agencies, including cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, water districts, school districts, and universities; investor and municipal owned energy utilities; state and federal agencies; and commercial and industrial firms, as well as various other special districts and agencies. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Anaheim, California.