Critical Contrast: Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) versus Sodexo (OTCMKTS:SDXAY)

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) and Sodexo (OTCMKTS:SDXAY) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Crawford & Company and Sodexo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crawford & Company	1.37%	24.21%	5.46%
Sodexo	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Crawford & Company and Sodexo, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crawford & Company	1	0	0	0	1.00
Sodexo	1	5	1	0	2.00

Risk and Volatility

Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sodexo has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Crawford & Company and Sodexo”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crawford & Company	$1.31 billion	0.38	$19.63 million	$0.36	28.63
Sodexo	$26.49 billion	0.33	$765.33 million	N/A	N/A

Sodexo has higher revenue and earnings than Crawford & Company.

Dividends

Crawford & Company pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Sodexo pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Crawford & Company pays out 83.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.0% of Crawford & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.0% of Crawford & Company shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Sodexo shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Crawford & Company beats Sodexo on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Co. engages in the provision of claims management and outsourcing solutions to carriers, brokers, and corporates. It operates through the following segments: Crawford Loss Adjusting, Crawford TPA Solutions, and Crawford Platform Solutions. The Crawford Loss Adjusting segment consists of adjusting services provided to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property and casualty losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real property and certain types of personal property. The Crawford TPA Solutions segment provides third party administration for workers’ compensation, auto and liability, disability absence management, medical management, and accident and health to corporations, brokers, and insurers worldwide. The Crawford Platform Solutions segment is involved in the management of contractor networks and the provision of claims management services to insurance companies and self-insured entities related to property, casualty, and catastrophic losses. The company was founded by Jim Crawford in 1941 and is headquartered in Peachtree Corners, GA.

About Sodexo

Sodexo S.A. provides food services and facilities management services worldwide. It offers various on-site services, which includes corporate services, energy and resources, government and agencies, and other services; healthcare and seniors; and learning solutions to schools and universities. The company also provides food services comprising retail service, food delivery, and meal and food vouchers, as well as digital food ordering services; savings and purchase solutions, data and digital tools, and advisory services and client support; and work-life balance and employee experience solutions. In addition, it offers facility management services, including technical service management, assets management, building maintenance, access control, deep cleaning, energy management, space planning, project management, front-of-house services, grounds maintenance, waste management, HVAC systems, mail management, commercial cleaning, workspace management, and pest control. services. The company was formerly known as Sodexho Alliance and changed its name to Sodexo S.A. in 2008. Sodexo S.A. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.