Critical Analysis: AdStar (OTCMKTS:ADST) and Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC)

AdStar (OTCMKTS:ADST) and Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares AdStar and Omnicom Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AdStar	N/A	N/A	N/A
Omnicom Group	-0.32%	25.65%	5.08%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.0% of Omnicom Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.6% of AdStar shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Omnicom Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares AdStar and Omnicom Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AdStar	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Omnicom Group	$17.27 billion	1.53	-$54.50 million	$0.49	173.85

AdStar has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Omnicom Group.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for AdStar and Omnicom Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AdStar	0	0	0	0	0.00
Omnicom Group	1	3	4	0	2.38

Omnicom Group has a consensus target price of $95.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.52%. Given Omnicom Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Omnicom Group is more favorable than AdStar.

Summary

Omnicom Group beats AdStar on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AdStar

AdStar, Inc. engages in the provision of advertising technology services to publishers. It focuses on its application service provider. The company was founded by Leslie Bernhard and Eli Rousso in 1986 and is headquartered in Marina del Rey, CA.

About Omnicom Group

Omnicom Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, offers advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services. It provides a range of services in the areas of advertising and media, precision marketing, commerce and branding, experiential, execution and support, public relations, and healthcare. The company's services include advertising, branding, content marketing, corporate social responsibility consulting, crisis communications, custom publishing, data analytics, database management, digital/direct marketing and post-production, digital transformation consulting, entertainment marketing, experiential marketing, field marketing, sales support, financial/corporate business-to-business advertising, graphic arts/digital imaging, healthcare marketing and communications, and instore design services. Its services also comprise interactive marketing, investor relations, marketing research, media planning and buying, retail media planning and buying, merchandising and point of sale, mobile marketing, multi-cultural marketing, non-profit marketing, organizational communications, package design, product placement, promotional marketing, public affairs, public relations, retail marketing, retail media and e-commerce, search engine marketing, shopper marketing, social media marketing, and sports and event marketing services. It operates in the North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Asia Pacific. The company was incorporated in 1944 and is based in New York, New York.