Financial Contrast: Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) vs. ATIF (NASDAQ:ZBAI)

ATIF (NASDAQ:ZBAI) and Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.4% of Exponent shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.2% of ATIF shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Exponent shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ATIF and Exponent’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ATIF	N/A	-59.44%	-54.65%
Exponent	18.21%	25.51%	13.85%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for ATIF and Exponent, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ATIF	1	0	0	0	1.00
Exponent	0	2	2	0	2.50

Exponent has a consensus price target of $92.50, indicating a potential upside of 27.10%. Given Exponent’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Exponent is more favorable than ATIF.

Volatility & Risk

ATIF has a beta of -0.27, meaning that its share price is 127% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exponent has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ATIF and Exponent”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ATIF	$1.20 million	7.37	-$4.60 million	($7.19)	-0.93
Exponent	$582.01 million	6.24	$106.01 million	$2.08	34.99

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

Summary

Exponent beats ATIF on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ATIF

ATIF Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of financial consulting services. It is also involved in merger and acquisition business advisory, post-listing compliance, management support, and related services. The company was founded on January 5, 2015 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, CA.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering. The Environmental and Health segment offers services in the areas of chemical regulation and food safety, ecological and biological sciences, environmental and earth sciences, and health sciences. The company offers approximately 90 technical disciplines to solve pressing and complicated challenges facing stakeholders. It serves clients in chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, food, beverage and nutrition, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, technology, industrial equipment, transportation, and other sectors of the economy. The company was formerly known as The Failure Group, Inc. and changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.