Analyzing Securitas AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:SCTBF) and The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) and Securitas AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:SCTBF) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares The GEO Group and Securitas AB (publ)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The GEO Group	4.72%	9.43%	3.18%
Securitas AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for The GEO Group and Securitas AB (publ), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The GEO Group	0	0	2	0	3.00
Securitas AB (publ)	0	0	0	0	N/A

The GEO Group currently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.54%. Given The GEO Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe The GEO Group is more favorable than Securitas AB (publ).

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.1% of The GEO Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.4% of Securitas AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of The GEO Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares The GEO Group and Securitas AB (publ)’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The GEO Group	$2.41 billion	0.77	$107.32 million	$0.76	19.17
Securitas AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

The GEO Group has higher revenue and earnings than Securitas AB (publ).

Summary

The GEO Group beats Securitas AB (publ) on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The GEO Group

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) engages in ownership, leasing, and management of secure facilities, processing centers, and community-based reentry facilities in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The company also provides secure facility management services, including the provision of security, administrative, rehabilitation, education, and food services; reentry services, such as temporary housing, programming, employment assistance, and other services; electronic monitoring and supervision services; and transportation services; as well as designs, constructs, and finances new facilities through projects. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida.

About Securitas AB (publ)

Securitas AB (publ) provides security services in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Securitas North America, Securitas Europe, and Securitas Ibero-America. It offers on-site guarding, mobile patrol, canine security, reception, loss prevention, screening, and track and trace services, as well as operates Securitas operation centers. The company also provides remote video solutions; aviation security services, such as physical security, airline security, hospitality, and consultancy related services; and electronic security services. In addition, it offers fire and safety; enterprise risk management services, such as risk and security management, executive protection, corporate investigations, and due diligence services; and intelligent security and home alarm services. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.