Analyzing VCI Global (NASDAQ:VCIG) & Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO)

Exponent (NASDAQ:EXPO) and VCI Global (NASDAQ:VCIG) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Exponent and VCI Global, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exponent	0	2	2	0	2.50
VCI Global	1	0	0	0	1.00

Exponent currently has a consensus price target of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.28%. Given Exponent’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Exponent is more favorable than VCI Global.

Volatility & Risk

Exponent has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, VCI Global has a beta of 7.87, indicating that its stock price is 687% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.4% of Exponent shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of VCI Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Exponent shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Exponent and VCI Global”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exponent	$582.01 million	5.57	$106.01 million	$2.23	29.95
VCI Global	$26.09 million	0.02	-$30.26 million	N/A	N/A

Exponent has higher revenue and earnings than VCI Global.

Profitability

This table compares Exponent and VCI Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exponent	17.67%	31.48%	15.53%
VCI Global	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Exponent pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. VCI Global pays an annual dividend of $0.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Exponent pays out 55.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Exponent has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Summary

Exponent beats VCI Global on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exponent

Exponent, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a science and engineering consulting company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Engineering and Other Scientific, and Environmental and Health. The Engineering and Other Scientific segment provides services in the areas of biomechanics, biomedical engineering and sciences, buildings and structures, civil engineering, construction consulting, data sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, human factors, materials and corrosion engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer science and materials chemistry, thermal sciences, and vehicle engineering. The Environmental and Health segment offers services in the areas of chemical regulation and food safety, ecological and biological sciences, environmental and earth sciences, and health sciences. The company offers approximately 90 technical disciplines to solve pressing and complicated challenges facing stakeholders. It serves clients in chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, food, beverage and nutrition, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, technology, industrial equipment, transportation, and other sectors of the economy. The company was formerly known as The Failure Group, Inc. and changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

About VCI Global

VCI Global Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides business and technology consulting services in Malaysia. The company offers business strategy consultancy services, including listing solutions, investors relations, and boardroom strategies consultancy. It also provides technology consultancy services and solutions, such as digital development, fintech solution, and software solutions. In addition, the company engages in corporate and business advisory services in corporate finance, corporate structuring and restructuring, equity investment, and merger and acquisition; listings on recognized stock exchanges; fintech advisory; technology development; and computer software programming. Further, it is involved in provision of artificial intelligence; image processing; communication; networking and process control software services; money lending services; education and training services; real estate management consultancy services; and leasing and operational management of resort properties. The company serves its products to small-medium enterprises and government-linked agencies, as well as to publicly traded conglomerates across various industries. VCI Global Limited was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.