Contrasting Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP) & ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ)

Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP) and ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Concrete Pumping has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its stock price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

34.2% of Concrete Pumping shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.5% of ARQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.2% of Concrete Pumping shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.1% of ARQ shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Concrete Pumping and ARQ”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Concrete Pumping	$392.87 million	1.44	$6.37 million	$0.14	80.43
ARQ	$120.34 million	0.92	-$52.61 million	($1.29)	-2.00

Concrete Pumping has higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Concrete Pumping, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Concrete Pumping and ARQ, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Concrete Pumping	0	3	1	0	2.25
ARQ	1	1	2	1	2.60

Concrete Pumping presently has a consensus target price of $10.25, suggesting a potential downside of 8.97%. ARQ has a consensus target price of $7.50, suggesting a potential upside of 190.70%. Given ARQ’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ARQ is more favorable than Concrete Pumping.

Profitability

This table compares Concrete Pumping and ARQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Concrete Pumping	2.23%	3.47%	1.03%
ARQ	-43.93%	-2.67%	-2.00%

Summary

Concrete Pumping beats ARQ on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Concrete Pumping

Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. provides concrete pumping and waste management services in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company offers concrete pumping services to general contractors and concrete finishing companies in the commercial, infrastructure, and residential sectors under the Brundage-Bone and Capital Pumping brands; and industrial cleanup and containment services primarily to customers in the construction industry under the Eco-Pan brand. It leases and rents concrete pumping equipment, pans, and containers. As of October 31, 2023, the company owned a fleet of approximately 930 boom pumps, 90 placing booms, 20 telebelts, 300 stationary pumps, and 115 waste management trucks. Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. is a holding company. It engages in the provision of environmental and emission control equipment to the power generation industry. The company operates through the following Segments: Refined Coal and Advanced Purification Technologies. The Refined Coal segment includes the Tinuum Group, Tinuum Services, and GWN Manager. The Advanced Purification Technologies segment refers to the sale of Activated Carbon Injection and Dry Sorbent Injection equipment systems, chemical sales, consulting services, and other sales related to the reduction of emissions in the coal-fired electric generation process and the electric utility industry. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO.