Financial Comparison: Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) vs. TIC Solutions (NYSE:TIC)

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) and TIC Solutions (NYSE:TIC) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.3% of Willdan Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of Willdan Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.4% of TIC Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Willdan Group and TIC Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Willdan Group	0	2	1	0	2.33
TIC Solutions	1	2	3	0	2.33

Willdan Group presently has a consensus price target of $127.50, indicating a potential upside of 70.66%. TIC Solutions has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.82%. Given Willdan Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Willdan Group is more favorable than TIC Solutions.

Profitability

This table compares Willdan Group and TIC Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Willdan Group	8.80%	24.51%	13.92%
TIC Solutions	-5.64%	-2.30%	-1.11%

Risk & Volatility

Willdan Group has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TIC Solutions has a beta of 3, suggesting that its share price is 200% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Willdan Group and TIC Solutions”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Willdan Group	$681.55 million	1.67	$52.56 million	$4.26	17.54
TIC Solutions	$2.05 billion	0.94	-$87.12 million	($0.58)	-15.23

Willdan Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than TIC Solutions. TIC Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Willdan Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Willdan Group beats TIC Solutions on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services. The Engineering and Consulting segment provides building and safety, city engineering and code enforcement, development plan review and inspection, disaster recovery, geotechnical and earthquake engineering, planning and surveying, contract staff support, program and construction management, structural engineering, transportation and traffic engineering, and water resources services. This segment also offers district administration, financial consulting, and federal compliance services. It serves public and governmental agencies, including cities, counties, redevelopment agencies, water districts, school districts, and universities; investor and municipal owned energy utilities; state and federal agencies; and commercial and industrial firms, as well as various other special districts and agencies. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Anaheim, California.

About TIC Solutions

Acuren Corporation provides critical asset integrity services in North America. Its activities include various nondestructive testing (NDT) solutions, such as radiography, ultrasonic testing, magnetic particle inspection, penetrant testing, and visual inspection. Its NDT activities include inspection and evaluation of industrial equipment through various technology-enabled methods to ensure asset integrity, avoid accidents, and comply with regulatory requirements without destroying the asset or component. The company also provides market rope access technician solutions, including inspection and testing, as well as insulation, coatings and blasting, welding, pipe fitting, hoisting and rigging, and electrical services. In addition, its TIC service includes support from consulting engineers with in-lab destructive testing capabilities. The company provides support failure investigation, material selection, corrosion engineering, welding engineering, fracture mechanics, destructive testing, and chemical analysis. It serves a range of industrial markets, primarily chemical, pipeline, refinery, power generation, oilsands, automotive, aerospace, mining, manufacturing, renewable energy, and pulp and paper. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Tomball, Texas.