Analyzing Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS) & Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT)

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) and Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS) are both communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

33.8% of Harte Hanks shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Versant shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Harte Hanks shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Versant and Harte Hanks”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Versant	$6.60 billion	0.79	$930.00 million	$3.48	10.80
Harte Hanks	$154.63 million	0.21	-$810,000.00	($0.76)	-5.80

Versant has higher revenue and earnings than Harte Hanks. Harte Hanks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Versant, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Versant and Harte Hanks, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Versant	0	7	1	0	2.12
Harte Hanks	1	0	0	0	1.00

Versant presently has a consensus price target of $43.20, indicating a potential upside of 14.89%. Given Versant’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Versant is more favorable than Harte Hanks.

Profitability

This table compares Versant and Harte Hanks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Versant	N/A	N/A	N/A
Harte Hanks	-3.70%	-30.14%	-6.30%

Dividends

Versant pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Harte Hanks pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. Versant pays out 43.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Harte Hanks pays out -44.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Harte Hanks is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Versant beats Harte Hanks on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Versant

Versant Corporation is a provider of data management software. The Company designs, develops, markets and supports database management system products that companies use to solve data management and data integration issues. It also provides related product support, training and consulting services to assist users of the Company’s products in developing and deploying software applications based on its products. The Company’s Versant Object Database product is used primarily by enterprises, which have data management requirements, such as technology providers, telecommunications carriers, Government defense agencies, defense contractors, healthcare companies and companies in the financial services and transportation industries. In addition to its product offerings, to assist users in their development and deployment of applications based on the Versant Object Database, FastObjects and db4o, it offers related professional services.

About Harte Hanks

Harte-Hanks, Inc. engages in the provision of marketing solutions. It specializes in consulting, data analytics, creative services, digital and social media, marketing strategy, marketing technology, and other related services. It supports a range of customers in the field of technology, travel and leisure, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, automotive, finance, and retail. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in San Antonio, TX.