Comparing Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) & Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG)

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) and Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Healthcare Services Group and Republic Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Healthcare Services Group	0	4	6	0	2.60
Republic Services	0	9	13	0	2.59

Healthcare Services Group presently has a consensus price target of $26.67, suggesting a potential upside of 27.23%. Republic Services has a consensus price target of $243.73, suggesting a potential upside of 8.90%. Given Healthcare Services Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Healthcare Services Group is more favorable than Republic Services.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.0% of Healthcare Services Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.7% of Republic Services shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Healthcare Services Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Republic Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Healthcare Services Group and Republic Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Healthcare Services Group	6.59%	18.97%	11.96%
Republic Services	12.94%	18.69%	6.49%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Healthcare Services Group and Republic Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Healthcare Services Group	$1.84 billion	0.78	$59.06 million	$1.72	12.19
Republic Services	$16.59 billion	4.13	$2.14 billion	$7.06	31.70

Republic Services has higher revenue and earnings than Healthcare Services Group. Healthcare Services Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Republic Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Healthcare Services Group has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Republic Services has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Healthcare Services Group

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. provides management, administrative, and operating services to the housekeeping, laundry, linen, facility maintenance, and dietary service departments of nursing homes, retirement complexes, rehabilitation centers, and hospitals in the United States. It operates through two segments, Housekeeping and Dietary. The Housekeeping segment engages in the cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing of resident rooms and common areas of the customers' facilities, as well as laundering and processing of the bed linens, uniforms, resident personal clothing, and other assorted linen items utilized at the customers' facilities. The Dietary segment provides food purchasing, meal preparation, and professional dietitian services, which include the development of menus that meet the dietary needs of residents; and on-site management and clinical consulting services to facilities. It serves long-term and post-acute care facilities, hospitals, and the healthcare industry through referrals and solicitation of target facilities. The company was incorporated in 1976 and is based in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, offers environmental services in the United States and Canada. It is involved in the collection and processing of recyclable, solid waste, and industrial waste materials; transportation and disposal of non-hazardous and hazardous waste streams; and other environmental solutions. Its residential collection services include curbside collection of material for transport to transfer stations, landfills, recycling centers, and organics processing facilities; supply of recycling and waste containers; and renting of compactors. The company also engages in the processing and sale of old corrugated containers, old newsprint, aluminum, glass, and other materials; and provision of landfill services. It serves small-container, large-container, and residential customers. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.