Contrasting Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYB) & SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC)

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC) and Kelly Services (NASDAQ:KELYB) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SS&C Technologies and Kelly Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SS&C Technologies	$6.27 billion	2.97	$796.90 million	$3.48	22.83
Kelly Services	$4.06 billion	0.21	-$254.10 million	($3.60)	-6.92

SS&C Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Kelly Services. Kelly Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SS&C Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

SS&C Technologies has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kelly Services has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for SS&C Technologies and Kelly Services, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SS&C Technologies	1	2	8	1	2.75
Kelly Services	1	0	0	0	1.00

SS&C Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $96.57, suggesting a potential upside of 21.57%. Given SS&C Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe SS&C Technologies is more favorable than Kelly Services.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.9% of SS&C Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Kelly Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.0% of SS&C Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 93.1% of Kelly Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares SS&C Technologies and Kelly Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SS&C Technologies	12.76%	21.74%	7.25%
Kelly Services	-3.08%	2.36%	1.01%

Dividends

SS&C Technologies pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Kelly Services pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. SS&C Technologies pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kelly Services pays out -8.3% 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. SS&C Technologies has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. SS&C Technologies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

SS&C Technologies beats Kelly Services on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SS&C Technologies

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. provides software and technology-enabled services to financial services and healthcare organizations. Its offerings include software for investment and wealth management, alternative investments, insurance, retirement and healthcare operations, as well as related business process outsourcing and fund administration services. The company was founded in 1986 by William C. Stone and is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut. Stone serves as chairman and chief executive officer.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc. provides workforce solutions to businesses and organizations. Its services include temporary and permanent staffing, recruitment, workforce management and consulting, helping clients find and manage employees across a range of roles. The company serves industries including science and engineering, education, healthcare, and professional and technical services. Its offerings include specialized recruiting and staffing as well as solutions designed to help organizations manage hiring and workforce needs.