Critical Survey: Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) vs. Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR)

Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR) and Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Issuer Direct and Montrose Environmental Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Issuer Direct	-4.54%	5.03%	2.80%
Montrose Environmental Group	-5.28%	1.86%	0.78%

Volatility and Risk

Issuer Direct has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Montrose Environmental Group has a beta of 1.71, suggesting that its stock price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Issuer Direct and Montrose Environmental Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Issuer Direct	$33.38 million	1.12	$770,000.00	($0.35)	-27.97
Montrose Environmental Group	$624.21 million	0.91	-$30.86 million	($1.49)	-11.09

Issuer Direct has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Montrose Environmental Group. Issuer Direct is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Montrose Environmental Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Issuer Direct and Montrose Environmental Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Issuer Direct	0	0	0	0	0.00
Montrose Environmental Group	0	2	3	0	2.60

Montrose Environmental Group has a consensus target price of $36.60, indicating a potential upside of 121.42%. Given Montrose Environmental Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Montrose Environmental Group is more favorable than Issuer Direct.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Issuer Direct shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.9% of Issuer Direct shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of Montrose Environmental Group 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.

About Issuer Direct

Issuer Direct Corporation operates as a communications and compliance company, provides solutions for both public relations and investor relations professionals in the United States and internationally. The company provides press release distribution, media databases, media monitoring, and newsrooms through media advantage platform; ACCESSWIRE, a news dissemination and media outreach service; and Webcaster Platform, a cloud-based webcast, webinar, and virtual meeting platform that delivers live and on-demand streaming of events to audiences of various sizes, as well as allows customers to create, produce, and deliver events. It also offers professional conference and events software, a mobile app that offers organizers, issuers, and investors to register, request, and approve one-on-one meetings, as well as manage schedules, perform event promotion and sponsorship, print attendee badges, and manage lodging; and investor relations content network, a series of data feeds, which include news feeds, stock feeds, fundamentals, regulatory filings, corporate governance, and other components. In addition, the company provides whistleblower hotline, a system that delivers secure notifications and basic incident workflow management processes that align with a company’s corporate governance whistleblower policy; stock transfer module, which offers access to real-time information about their shareholders, stock ledgers, and reports, as well as issues new shares; and proxy module, a real-time voting platform for customers and their shareholders of record. It serves public and private companies, mutual funds, law firms, brokerage firms, investment banks, individuals, and other institutions. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. operates as an environmental services company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Assessment, Permitting and Response; Measurement and Analysis; and Remediation and Reuse. The Assessment, Permitting and Response segment provides scientific advisory and consulting services to support environmental assessments; environmental emergency response and recovery; toxicology consulting and environmental audits and permits for current operations; facility upgrades; new projects; decommissioning projects; and development projects. This segment also offers technical advisory and consulting services, including regulatory compliance support and planning, environmental, ecosystem and toxicological assessments, and support during responses to environmental disruptions. The Measurement and Analysis segment tests and analyzes air, water, and soil to determine concentrations of contaminants, as well as the toxicological impact of contaminants on flora, fauna, and human health. Its services include source and ambient air testing and monitoring, leak detection, and advanced analytical laboratory services, such as storm water, wastewater, and drinking water analysis. The Remediation and Reuse segment provides engineering, design, implementation, and operations and maintenance services primarily to treat contaminated water, remove contaminants from soil, or create biogas from waste. The company serves financial, oil and gas, utilities, construction, automotive, real-estate, midstream energy, manufacturing, commodities, petrochemical, food and beverage, telecommunications, and engineering industries, as well as local, state, provincial, and federal government entities. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas.