Comparing Heritage Global (NASDAQ:HGBL) and Worldline (OTCMKTS:WWLNF)

Worldline (OTCMKTS:WWLNF) and Heritage Global (NASDAQ:HGBL) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Worldline and Heritage Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Worldline	N/A	N/A	N/A
Heritage Global	20.60%	16.05%	11.90%

Volatility & Risk

Worldline has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Heritage Global has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Worldline and Heritage Global”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Worldline	$4.99 billion	0.19	-$884.49 million	N/A	N/A
Heritage Global	$60.54 million	1.01	$12.48 million	$0.28	5.82

Heritage Global has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Worldline.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Worldline and Heritage Global, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Worldline	0	2	0	1	2.67
Heritage Global	0	0	0	0	0.00

Insider & Institutional Ownership

33.5% of Heritage Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.8% of Heritage Global shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Heritage Global beats Worldline on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Worldline

Worldline SA provides payments and transactional services to financial institutions, merchants, corporations, and government agencies in Northern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Merchant Services; Financial Services; and Mobility & e-Transactional Services segments. The Merchant Services segment offers commercial acquiring, terminal, omnichannel payment acceptance, and digital retail services. The Financial Services segment provides issuing processing, acquiring processing, digital banking, and account payments services. The Mobility & e-Transactional Services segment offers trusted digitization, e-ticketing, and e-consumer and mobility. The company was formerly known as Atos Worldline S.A.S. and changed its name to Worldline SA in April 2014. Worldline SA was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Puteaux, France.

About Heritage Global

Heritage Global Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset services company with focus on financial and industrial asset transactions. The company operates in three segments: Auction and Liquidation, Refurbishment & Resale, and Brokerage. It provides a suite of market making, acquisitions, refurbishment, dispositions, valuations, and secured lending services. The company focuses on identifying, valuing, acquiring, and monetizing underlying tangible assets. It acts as an adviser, as well as a principal, acquiring, or brokering manufacturing facilities; surplus industrial machinery and equipment; industrial inventories; and charged-off receivable portfolios. The company was formerly known as Counsel RB Capital Inc. and changed its name to Heritage Global, Inc. in August 2013. Heritage Global, Inc. was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.