Critical Comparison: Hennessy Advisors (HNNA) versus Its Competitors

Hennessy Advisors (NASDAQ:HNNA) is one of 1,746 public companies in the “Capital Markets” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Hennessy Advisors to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Hennessy Advisors and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hennessy Advisors	24.77%	8.31%	5.48%
Hennessy Advisors Competitors	314.79%	9.90%	3.46%

Risk and Volatility

Hennessy Advisors has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hennessy Advisors’ rivals have a beta of 0.79, suggesting that their average stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Hennessy Advisors and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hennessy Advisors	0	1	0	0	2.00
Hennessy Advisors Competitors	5605	20212	22563	650	2.37

As a group, “Capital Markets” companies have a potential upside of 23.14%. Given Hennessy Advisors’ rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hennessy Advisors has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hennessy Advisors and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hennessy Advisors	$35.54 million	$9.96 million	9.90
Hennessy Advisors Competitors	$3.12 billion	$397.40 million	15.75

Hennessy Advisors’ rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Hennessy Advisors. Hennessy Advisors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

10.3% of Hennessy Advisors shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.6% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are owned by institutional investors. 36.0% of Hennessy Advisors shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Hennessy Advisors pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Hennessy Advisors pays out 57.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Capital Markets” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.2% and pay out 29.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Hennessy Advisors rivals beat Hennessy Advisors on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

About Hennessy Advisors

Hennessy Advisors, Inc. is an investment management company that provides portfolio management, investment advisory and related services. Through its Hennessy Funds business, the company offers a range of investment products designed for individual investors, financial professionals and institutions. The company’s offerings have included actively managed mutual funds and exchange-traded funds covering equities, fixed income and specialized investment strategies. Its portfolios may focus on areas such as large- and small-capitalization companies, financial services, technology, utilities, international markets and other targeted segments.