HireQuest (HQI) Competitors

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) and Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Do analysts recommend HQI or PRTH?

HireQuest currently has a consensus price target of $13.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.12%. Priority Technology has a consensus price target of $13.00, suggesting a potential upside of 69.62%. Given Priority Technology's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Priority Technology is more favorable than HireQuest.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HireQuest	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Priority Technology	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.20

Which has higher valuation & earnings, HQI or PRTH?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HireQuest	$34.60M	4.07	$3.67M	$0.18	55.51
Priority Technology	$879.70M	0.70	$23.38M	$0.26	29.48

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of HQI or PRTH?

12.0% of HireQuest shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.5% of Priority Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 43.5% of HireQuest shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 66.2% of Priority Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is HQI or PRTH more profitable?

HireQuest has a net margin of 7.47% compared to Priority Technology's net margin of 4.03%. HireQuest's return on equity of 13.88% beat Priority Technology's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HireQuest	7.47%	13.88%	9.35%
Priority Technology	4.03%	-47.35%	3.97%

Which has more volatility & risk, HQI or PRTH?

HireQuest has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Priority Technology has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to HQI or PRTH?

In the previous week, Priority Technology had 8 more articles in the media than HireQuest. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Priority Technology and 5 mentions for HireQuest. HireQuest's average media sentiment score of 0.84 beat Priority Technology's score of 0.61 indicating that HireQuest is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HireQuest	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Priority Technology	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Priority Technology beats HireQuest on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.