The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) versus CISO Global (NASDAQ:CISO) Critical Review

CISO Global (NASDAQ:CISO) and The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

40.1% of CISO Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.1% of The Hackett Group shares are held by institutional investors. 23.8% of CISO Global shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of The Hackett Group shares are held by 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.

Profitability

This table compares CISO Global and The Hackett Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CISO Global	-11.67%	-20.09%	-11.84%
The Hackett Group	5.86%	34.77%	12.89%

Volatility & Risk

CISO Global has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Hackett Group has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for CISO Global and The Hackett Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CISO Global	1	0	0	0	1.00
The Hackett Group	2	0	1	0	1.67

The Hackett Group has a consensus price target of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 53.06%. Given The Hackett Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe The Hackett Group is more favorable than CISO Global.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CISO Global and The Hackett Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CISO Global	$26.61 million	0.36	-$8.07 million	($0.19)	-1.09
The Hackett Group	$305.63 million	0.88	$12.94 million	$0.65	16.58

The Hackett Group has higher revenue and earnings than CISO Global. CISO Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Hackett Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

The Hackett Group beats CISO Global on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CISO Global

CISO Global Inc. operates as a cybersecurity and compliance company in the United States, Chile, and internationally. The company offers security managed services, including compliance, secured managed, and cyber defense operation services; culture education and enablement; tools and technology provisioning; data, privacy, regulations, and compliance monitoring; remote infrastructure administration; and antivirus and patch management services. It also provides cybersecurity professional services, such as incident response and digital forensics; security testing and training; cybersecurity consulting; compliance auditing; vulnerability assessment and penetration testing; and disaster recovery and data backup solutions. The company was formerly known as Cerberus Cyber Sentinel Corporation and changed its name to CISO Global Inc. in May 2023. CISO Global Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group, Inc. operates as an intellectual property-based executive advisory, strategic consulting, and digital transformation company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation, Oracle Solutions, and SAP Solutions. It offers Hackett Connect, an online searchable repository; best practice accelerators that provide web-based access to best practices, customized software configuration tools, and best practice process flows; advisor inquiry for access to fact-based advice on proven approaches and methods; best practice research that provides insights into the proven approaches; and peer interaction comprising member-led webcasts, annual best practice conferences, annual member forums, membership performance surveys, and client-submitted content, as well as IP-as-a-service and Hackett Institute programs. The company also provides benchmarking services that conduct studies for selling, general and administrative, finance, human resources, information technology, procurement, enterprise performance management, and shared services; and business transformation practices which help clients develop a coordinated digital transformation strategy. In addition, it offers oracle solutions that help clients to choose and deploy oracle applications that best meet their needs and objectives. Further, the company provides SAP solutions, including planning, architecture, and vendor evaluation and selection through implementation, customization, testing, and integration; post-implementation support, change and exception management, process transparency, system documentation, and end-user training; and off-shore application development, and application maintenance and support services. The company was formerly known as Answerthink, Inc. and changed its name to The Hackett Group, Inc. in 2008. The Hackett Group, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.