Financial Review: IHS (NYSE:IHS) & InterCloud Systems (OTCMKTS:ICLD)

InterCloud Systems (OTCMKTS:ICLD) and IHS (NYSE:IHS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for InterCloud Systems and IHS, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
InterCloud Systems	0	0	0	0	0.00
IHS	2	4	3	0	2.11

IHS has a consensus price target of $9.61, suggesting a potential upside of 16.38%. Given IHS’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe IHS is more favorable than InterCloud Systems.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares InterCloud Systems and IHS”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
InterCloud Systems	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
IHS	$1.58 billion	1.75	$143.60 million	$0.41	20.13

IHS has higher revenue and earnings than InterCloud Systems.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

17.5% of IHS shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of InterCloud Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of IHS shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares InterCloud Systems and IHS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
InterCloud Systems	N/A	N/A	N/A
IHS	8.12%	-661.41%	12.24%

Volatility and Risk

InterCloud Systems has a beta of -0.37, meaning that its share price is 137% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IHS has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

IHS beats InterCloud Systems on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About InterCloud Systems

InterCloud Systems, Inc. provides networking orchestration and automation for software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization environments to telecommunications service provider and corporate enterprise markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Applications and Infrastructure and Professional Services. The Applications and Infrastructure segment provides applications and services, including SDN training, SDN software development and integration, and vertical network function validation; and cabling and other field installations, as well as designs, engineers, installs, and maintains various types of Wi-Fi and DAS networks to enterprise customers. The Professional Services segment engages in the design and deployment of SDN and software-defined wide area networking solutions for enterprise and carrier accounts. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida.

About IHS

IHS Inc. develops source of information, insight and analytics in different areas of business. The Company’s segments include Resources, Transportation and Consolidated Markets & Solutions. The Company’s Resources segment includes its Energy and Chemicals product offerings. Its Transportation segment includes its Automotive; Maritime & Trade, and Aerospace, Defense & Security product offerings. Its Consolidated Markets & Solutions segment includes its Product Design; Technology, Media & Telecom, and Economics & Country Risk product offerings. It provides authoritative analysis and forecasts of sales and production for light vehicles, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, powertrain, components and technology systems across various markets. Its product design offerings include content and analysis on various engineering and technical standards, codes, reference books, journals, and other scientific and technical documents, as well as software-based engineering decision engines.