FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) versus Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Head-To-Head Comparison

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) and Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Dividends

FactSet Research Systems pays an annual dividend of $4.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Carlyle Group pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. FactSet Research Systems pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Carlyle Group pays out 145.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. FactSet Research Systems has raised its dividend for 27 consecutive years and Carlyle Group has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

FactSet Research Systems has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carlyle Group has a beta of 1.88, indicating that its stock price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for FactSet Research Systems and Carlyle Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FactSet Research Systems	6	10	2	1	1.89
Carlyle Group	1	8	8	0	2.41

FactSet Research Systems currently has a consensus price target of $271.79, suggesting a potential downside of 18.69%. Carlyle Group has a consensus price target of $54.60, suggesting a potential upside of 41.80%. Given Carlyle Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Carlyle Group is more favorable than FactSet Research Systems.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares FactSet Research Systems and Carlyle Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FactSet Research Systems	$2.48 billion	4.76	$533.48 million	$14.56	22.96
Carlyle Group	$4.78 billion	2.87	$808.70 million	$0.96	40.11

Carlyle Group has higher revenue and earnings than FactSet Research Systems. FactSet Research Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carlyle Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.2% of FactSet Research Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of Carlyle Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of FactSet Research Systems shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.4% of Carlyle Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares FactSet Research Systems and Carlyle Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FactSet Research Systems	21.54%	31.66%	15.73%
Carlyle Group	10.08%	22.52%	5.62%

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc., a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth. It serves portfolio managers, investment banks, asset managers, wealth advisors, corporate clients, and other financial services entities. FactSet Research Systems Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

About Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group Inc. is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led/ Leveraged buyouts, privatizations, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, structured credit, global distressed and corporate opportunities, small and middle market, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, senior debt, mezzanine and leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings, seed/startup, early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, mid venture, late venture, PIPES. The firm invests across four segments which include Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies, and Solutions. The firm typically invests in industrial, agribusiness, ecological sector, fintech, airports, parking, Plastics, Rubber, diversified natural resources, minerals, farming, aerospace, defense, automotive, consumer, retail, industrial, infrastructure, energy, power, healthcare, software, software enabled services, semiconductors, communications infrastructure, financial technology, utilities, gaming, systems and related supply chain, electronic systems, systems, oil and gas, processing facilities, power generation assets, technology, systems, real estate, financial services, transportation, business services, telecommunications, media, and logistics sectors. Within the industrial sector, the firm invests in manufacturing, building products, packaging, chemicals, metals and mining, forestry and paper products, and industrial consumables and services. In consumer and retail sectors, it invests in food and beverage, retail, restaurants, consumer products, domestic consumption, consumer services, personal care products, direct marketing, and education. Within aerospace, defense, business services, and government services sectors, it seeks to invest in defense electronics, manufacturing and services, government contracting and services, information technology, distribution companies. In telecommunication and media sectors, it invests in cable TV, directories, publishing, entertainment and content delivery services, wireless infrastructure/services, fixed line networks, satellite services, broadband and Internet, and infrastructure. Within real estate, the firm invests in office, hotel, industrial, retail, for sale residential, student housing, hospitality, multifamily residential, homebuilding and building products, and senior living sectors. The firm seeks to make investments in growing business including those with overleveraged balance sheets. The firm seeks to hold its investments for four to six years. In the healthcare sector, it invests in healthcare services, outsourcing services, companies running clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies, managed care, pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical related services, healthcare IT, medical, products, and devices. It seeks to invest in companies based in Sub-Saharan focusing on Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Botswana, Nigeria, Uganda, West Africa, North Africa and South Africa focusing on Tanzania and Zambia; Asia focusing on Pakistan, India, South East Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan; Australia; New Zealand; Europe focusing on France, Italy, Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Benelux , Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, and Russia; Middle East focusing on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and UAE; North America focusing on United States which further invest in Southeastern United States, Texas, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest; Asia Pacific; Soviet Union, Central-Eastern Europe, and Israel; Nordic region; and South America focusing on Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru. The firm seeks to invest in food, financial, and healthcare industries in Western China. In the real estate sector, the firm seeks to invest in various locations across Europe focusing on France and Central Europe, United States, Asia focusing on China, and Latin America. It typically invests between $1 million and $50 million for venture investments and between $50 million and $2 billion for buyouts in companies with enterprise value of between $31.57 million and $1000 million and sales value of $10 million and $500 million. It seeks to invest in companies with market capitalization greater than $50 million and EBITDA between $5 million to $25 million. It prefers to take a majority or a minority stake. While investing in Japan, it does not invest in companies with more than 1,000 employees and prefers companies' worth between $100 million and $150 million. The firm originates, structures, and acts as lead equity investor in the transactions. The Carlyle Group Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Washington, District of Columbia with additional offices in 21 countries across 5 continents (North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Europe).