HireQuest, Inc. (HQI) vs Star Equity Holdings, Inc. (STRR)

HireQuest, Inc. and Star Equity Holdings, Inc. are both Staffing & Employment Services companies. HireQuest, Inc. is the larger, with a market value of $239.2M against $35.1M — 6.8× the size. Star Equity Holdings, Inc. has negative trailing earnings, so its P/E is not meaningful; HireQuest, Inc. trades at 29.2×. Star Equity Holdings, Inc. grew revenue faster over the last twelve months: 52.2% against −7.53%. HireQuest, Inc. has the higher net margin (27.1% vs −5.27%) and the higher return on invested capital (7.97% vs −8.53%). Across the 19 metrics below, HireQuest, Inc. leads on 15 and Star Equity Holdings, Inc. on 4.

Valuation

Metric HQI STRR Staffing & Employment Services median
P/E 29.22 n/m 23.57
P/S 7.88 0.17 0.28
P/B 3.45 0.59 1.24
Price to free cash flow 26.40 n/m 17.58
EV/EBITDA 19.16 n/m 11.38
EV/Sales 7.84 0.14 0.34
Earnings yield 3.42% (28.69%) 0.15%
Free cash flow yield 3.79% (28.09%) 0.39%

Profitability

Metric HQI STRR Staffing & Employment Services median
Gross margin 100.00% 42.04% 25.01%
Operating margin 28.44% (3.40%) 0.29%
Net margin 27.06% (5.27%) 0.04%
Free cash flow margin 31.32% (4.74%) 0.14%
Return on equity 12.10% (22.11%) 2.93%
Return on assets 8.69% (13.49%) 0.07%
Return on invested capital 7.97% (8.53%) 0.32%

Growth

Metric HQI STRR Staffing & Employment Services median
Revenue growth (TTM) (7.53%) 52.15% (2.94%)
EPS growth (last fiscal year) 73.08% (16.35%) (21.61%)
Revenue growth, 5-year CAGR 17.28% 11.16% 1.03%
Net income growth, 5-year CAGR 3.38% 0.00% 0.00%

Health

Metric HQI STRR Staffing & Employment Services median
Debt to equity 0.00 0.09 0.04
Current ratio 2.74 1.96 1.75
Net debt to EBITDA (0.39) 6.09 (0.08)

Dividend

Metric HQI STRR Staffing & Employment Services median
Dividend yield 1.39% — 2.47%
Payout ratio 0.42 — 0.50

Size

Metric HQI STRR Staffing & Employment Services median
Market cap 239.22m 35.05m 461.40m

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