HireQuest, Inc. (HQI) vs Kelly Services, Inc. (KELYA)

HireQuest, Inc. and Kelly Services, Inc. are both Staffing & Employment Services companies. Kelly Services, Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $558.1M against $243.3M — 2.3× the size. Kelly Services, Inc. has negative trailing earnings, so its P/E is not meaningful; HireQuest, Inc. trades at 30.3×. HireQuest, Inc. grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: −7.53% against −9.63%. HireQuest, Inc. has the higher net margin (27.1% vs −6.73%) and the higher return on invested capital (7.97% vs −5.54%). Both pay a dividend; Kelly Services, Inc. yields more (1.99% vs 1.34%). Across the 22 metrics below, HireQuest, Inc. leads on 15 and Kelly Services, Inc. on 7.

Valuation

Metric HQI KELYA Staffing & Employment Services median
P/E 30.32 n/m 23.42
P/S 8.18 0.13 0.36
P/B 3.58 0.53 1.01
Price to free cash flow 27.39 24.39 16.25
EV/EBITDA 19.89 9.41 9.41
EV/Sales 8.13 0.14 0.40
Earnings yield 3.30% (51.69%) 1.15%
Free cash flow yield 3.65% 4.10% 2.73%

Profitability

Metric HQI KELYA Staffing & Employment Services median
Gross margin 100.00% 19.67% 23.11%
Operating margin 28.44% (2.26%) 0.08%
Net margin 27.06% (6.73%) 0.27%
Free cash flow margin 31.32% 0.53% 1.23%
Return on equity 12.10% (24.32%) 2.31%
Return on assets 8.69% (11.41%) 0.00%
Return on invested capital 7.97% (5.54%) 0.00%

Growth

Metric HQI KELYA Staffing & Employment Services median
Revenue growth (TTM) (7.53%) (9.63%) 0.69%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) 73.08% (36,100.00%) (27.86%)
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 17.28% (1.20%) 2.59%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR 3.38% 0.00% 0.00%

Health

Metric HQI KELYA Staffing & Employment Services median
Debt to equity 0.00 0.08 0.08
Current ratio 2.74 1.50 1.50
Net debt to EBITDA (0.39) 0.81 (0.22)

Dividend

Metric HQI KELYA Staffing & Employment Services median
Dividend yield 1.34% 1.99% 2.46%
Payout ratio 0.42 — 0.42

Size

Metric HQI KELYA Staffing & Employment Services median
Market cap 243.25m 558.08m 558.08m

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