Contrasting The Hackett Group (HCKT) & The Competition

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) is one of 271 publicly-traded companies in the “IT Services” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare The Hackett Group to related businesses based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares The Hackett Group and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Hackett Group	6.29%	38.40%	12.57%
The Hackett Group Competitors	-189.78%	-32.50%	-8.33%

Risk and Volatility

The Hackett Group has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Hackett Group’s peers have a beta of 2.16, indicating that their average stock price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.1% of The Hackett Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.4% of shares of all “IT Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 11.8% of The Hackett Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.4% of shares of all “IT Services” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

The Hackett Group pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. The Hackett Group pays out 68.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “IT Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.3% and pay out 71.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. The Hackett Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. The Hackett Group is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for The Hackett Group and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Hackett Group	1	1	1	0	2.00
The Hackett Group Competitors	1997	5659	9483	342	2.47

The Hackett Group currently has a consensus price target of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.13%. As a group, “IT Services” companies have a potential upside of 26.20%. Given The Hackett Group’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe The Hackett Group has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares The Hackett Group and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Hackett Group	$305.63 million	$12.94 million	19.14
The Hackett Group Competitors	$3.34 billion	$227.06 million	-24.84

The Hackett Group’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than The Hackett Group. The Hackett Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

The Hackett Group peers beat The Hackett Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

The Hackett Group Company Profile

The Hackett Group, Inc. is a global business and technology consulting firm that helps organizations improve performance, transform operations and adopt digital technologies. Its services are informed by proprietary research, benchmarking data and best-practice insights across major corporate functions. The company advises clients on finance, human resources, procurement, information technology, supply chain management and other enterprise operations. Its offerings include benchmarking and performance studies, business transformation programs, enterprise performance management, technology consulting and implementation services.