ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) vs. Conduent (NASDAQ:CNDT) Critical Analysis

ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) and Conduent (NASDAQ:CNDT) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

ICF International has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Conduent has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for ICF International and Conduent, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICF International	0	2	2	0	2.50
Conduent	1	1	0	1	2.33

ICF International presently has a consensus price target of $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.41%. Given ICF International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe ICF International is more favorable than Conduent.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ICF International and Conduent”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICF International	$1.87 billion	0.86	$91.59 million	$4.83	18.52
Conduent	$3.04 billion	0.07	-$170.00 million	($1.52)	-0.91

ICF International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Conduent. Conduent is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ICF International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares ICF International and Conduent’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICF International	4.86%	11.53%	5.73%
Conduent	-8.17%	-9.02%	-2.43%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.1% of ICF International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.3% of Conduent shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of ICF International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Conduent shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

ICF International beats Conduent on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ICF International

ICF International, Inc. provides management, technology, and policy consulting and implementation services to government and commercial clients in the United States and internationally. The company researches critical policy, industry, stakeholder issues, trends, and behaviors; measures and evaluates results and their impact; and provides strategic planning and advisory services to its clients on how to navigate societal, business, market, business, communication, and technology challenges. It also identifies, defines, and implements policies, plans, programs, and business tools through a range of standard and customized methodologies for its clients' business context; conducts survey research; collects and analyzes various data to understand critical issues and options for its clients; and provides actionable business intelligence, as well as information and data management solutions that allow integrated and purpose-driven data usage. In addition, the company provides solutions to optimize the customer and citizen experience; modernizes IT systems; and cyber security solutions that support the range of cyber security missions and protect IT infrastructures in the face of relentless threats, as well as designs, develops, and implements technology systems and business tools that are key to its clients' mission or business performance. Further, it informs and engages its clients' constituents, customers, and employees through public relations, branding and marketing, multichannel and strategic communications, and reputation issues management. The company serves energy, environment, infrastructure, and disaster recovery; health and social programs; and security and other civilian and commercial markets. The company was formerly known as ICF Consulting Group Holdings, LLC and changed its name to ICF International, Inc. in 2006. ICF International, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

About Conduent

Conduent Incorporated provides digital business solutions and services for the commercial, government, and transportation spectrum in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Commercial, Government Services, and Transportation. The Commercial segment offers business process services and customized solutions to clients in various industries; and customer experience management, business operations, healthcare claims and administration, and human capital solutions. The Government segment provides government-centric business process services to the United States federal, state, local, and foreign governments for public assistance, program administration, transaction processing, and payment services; and digital payments, child support payments, government healthcare, and eligibility and enrollment solutions. The Transportation segment offers systems, support, and revenue-generating solutions to government transportation agency clients; and public safety, mobility, and digital payment solutions. This segment also provides electronic tolling, urban congestion management, and mileage-based user solutions; transit solutions; citation and permit administration, parking enforcement, and curbside demand management solutions; and computer-aided dispatch/automatic vehicle location solutions. Conduent Incorporated was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey.