Heidrick & Struggles International (HSII) Competitors

Heidrick & Struggles International (NASDAQ:HSII) and Korn/Ferry International (NYSE:KFY) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership and dividends.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, HSII or KFY?

Korn/Ferry International has higher revenue and earnings than Heidrick & Struggles International. Korn/Ferry International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Heidrick & Struggles International, 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
Heidrick & Struggles International	$1.12B	0.93	$8.73M	$1.59	31.34
Korn/Ferry International	$2.76B	1.39	$246.06M	$4.71	15.53

Which has more volatility & risk, HSII or KFY?

Heidrick & Struggles International has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Korn/Ferry International has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HSII or KFY a better dividend stock?

Heidrick & Struggles International pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Korn/Ferry International pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Heidrick & Struggles International pays out 37.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Korn/Ferry International pays out 40.8% 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. Korn/Ferry International has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Korn/Ferry International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts rate HSII or KFY?

Heidrick & Struggles International presently has a consensus price target of $51.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.35%. Korn/Ferry International has a consensus price target of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.72%. Given Korn/Ferry International's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Korn/Ferry International is more favorable than Heidrick & Struggles International.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heidrick & Struggles International	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Korn/Ferry International	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Do insiders & institutionals believe in HSII or KFY?

90.1% of Heidrick & Struggles International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Korn/Ferry International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Heidrick & Struggles International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Korn/Ferry International 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 HSII or KFY more profitable?

Korn/Ferry International has a net margin of 8.95% compared to Heidrick & Struggles International's net margin of 2.92%. Heidrick & Struggles International's return on equity of 14.85% beat Korn/Ferry International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heidrick & Struggles International	2.92%	14.85%	6.24%
Korn/Ferry International	8.95%	14.55%	7.29%

Does the media prefer HSII or KFY?

In the previous week, Korn/Ferry International had 6 more articles in the media than Heidrick & Struggles International. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Korn/Ferry International and 3 mentions for Heidrick & Struggles International. Korn/Ferry International's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Heidrick & Struggles International's score of 0.94 indicating that Korn/Ferry International is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Heidrick & Struggles International	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Korn/Ferry International	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Korn/Ferry International beats Heidrick & Struggles International on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.