Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC – Get Free Report) and Fortrea (NASDAQ:FTRE – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
91.0% of Sotera Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.4% of Sotera Health shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Fortrea shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Sotera Health and Fortrea, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Sotera Health | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.73 |
| Fortrea | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2.42 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Sotera Health and Fortrea”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Sotera Health | $1.16 billion | 4.31 | $77.94 million | $0.57 | 30.80 |
| Fortrea | $2.72 billion | 0.70 | -$986.20 million | ($0.91) | -21.91 |
Sotera Health has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Fortrea. Fortrea is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sotera Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Sotera Health has a beta of 1.85, suggesting that its share price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fortrea has a beta of 1.93, suggesting that its share price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Sotera Health and Fortrea’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Sotera Health | 13.44% | 40.12% | 7.55% |
| Fortrea | -3.18% | 10.72% | 2.17% |
Summary
Sotera Health beats Fortrea on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Sotera Health
Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems. The company also provides microbiological and analytical chemistry testing, as well as technical assistance, regulatory consulting, and advisory services. It serves medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food safety, agricultural products, cancer treatment, and high-performance materials industries, as well as commercial, advanced, and specialty application industries. The company was formerly known as Sotera Health Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Sotera Health Company in October 2020. Sotera Health Company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio.
About Fortrea
Fortrea Holdings Inc., a contract research organization, primarily engages in the provision of biopharmaceutical product and medical device development services worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Clinical Services and Enabling Services. The Clinical Services segment provides across the clinical pharmacology and clinical development spectrum. The Enabling Services segment provides patient access and clinical trial technology solutions to customers that streamline complex randomization and optimize the trial drug supply process. The company offers delivery models that include full service, functional service provider, and hybrid service structures. It also offers phase I-IV clinical trial management, differentiated technology enabled trial solutions, and post approval services, as well as consulting services. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device organizations. Fortrea Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.
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