Analyzing First Advantage (NYSE:FA) & Viad (NYSE:VVI)

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) and Viad (NYSE:VVI) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares First Advantage and Viad’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Advantage	4.28%	14.12%	7.97%
Viad	0.61%	12.70%	1.29%

Risk & Volatility

First Advantage has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viad has a beta of 2.04, suggesting that its stock price is 104% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Advantage and Viad, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Advantage	0	2	4	0	2.67
Viad	0	0	2	0	3.00

First Advantage currently has a consensus target price of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.49%. Viad has a consensus target price of $46.50, indicating a potential upside of 41.42%. Given Viad’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Viad is more favorable than First Advantage.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.9% of First Advantage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of Viad shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of First Advantage shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Viad shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Advantage and Viad’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Advantage	$763.76 million	3.02	$37.29 million	$0.22	72.09
Viad	$1.24 billion	0.56	$16.02 million	($0.38)	-86.53

First Advantage has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Viad. Viad is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Advantage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

First Advantage beats Viad on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products. The company also provides post-onboarding solutions, including criminal records monitoring, healthcare sanctions, motor vehicle records, social media screening, and global sanctions and licenses; and other products comprising fleet/vehicle compliance, hiring tax credits and incentives, resident/tenant screening, and investigative research. Its products and solutions are used by personnel in recruiting, human resources, risk, compliance, vendor management, safety, and/or security in global enterprises, mid-sized, and small companies. The company was formerly known as Fastball Intermediate, Inc. and changed its name to First Advantage Corporation in March 2021. First Advantage Corporation was founded in 2002 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Viad

Viad Corp provides hospitality, leisure activities, experiential marketing, and live events in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates in three segments: Pursuit, Spiro, and GES Exhibitions. The Pursuit segment offers recreational attractions, hotels and lodges, food and beverage, retail, sightseeing, and ground transportation services. This segment consists of Banff Jasper Collection, the Alaska Collection, the Glacier Park Collection, FlyOver, and Sky Lagoon. The Spiro segment operates as an experiential marketing agency that partners with brands around the world to manage and elevate their global experiential marketing activities. The GES Exhibition segment engages as an exhibition services company that partners with exhibition and conference organizers as a full-service provider of strategic and logistics solutions to manage the complexity of their shows. It serves event organizers and corporate brand marketers; and tour operators, tour wholesalers, destination management companies, and retail travel agencies. Viad Corp was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.