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

HireQuest, Inc. and Kelly Services, Inc. are both Staffing & Employment Services companies. Kelly Services, Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $659.7M against $260.6M — 2.5× the size. Kelly Services, Inc. has negative trailing earnings, so its P/E is not meaningful; HireQuest, Inc. trades at 34.0×. 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; HireQuest, Inc. yields more (1.87% vs 1.63%). Across the 22 metrics below, HireQuest, Inc. leads on 18 and Kelly Services, Inc. on 4.

Valuation

Metric HQI KELYB Staffing & Employment Services median
P/E 33.97 n/m 24.32
P/S 9.16 0.19 0.41
P/B 4.01 0.78 1.28
Price to free cash flow 30.69 35.81 18.57
EV/EBITDA 23.50 13.40 10.55
EV/Sales 9.61 0.20 0.40
Earnings yield 2.94% (35.20%) 0.99%
Free cash flow yield 3.26% 2.79% 2.79%

Profitability

Metric HQI KELYB 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%) 0.23%
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 KELYB Staffing & Employment Services median
Revenue growth (TTM) (7.53%) (9.63%) 0.69%
EPS growth (last fiscal year) 73.08% (36,100.00%) —
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 17.28% (1.20%) 1.23%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR 3.38% 0.00% 0.00%

Health

Metric HQI KELYB 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 KELYB Staffing & Employment Services median
Dividend yield 1.87% 1.63% 2.16%
Payout ratio 0.30 7.50 0.30

Size

Metric HQI KELYB Staffing & Employment Services median
Market cap 260.62m 659.70m 590.17m

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