Critical Review: ICTS International (OTCMKTS:ICTSF) vs. Emerald (NYSE:EEX)

ICTS International (OTCMKTS:ICTSF) and Emerald (NYSE:EEX) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

ICTS International has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Emerald has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ICTS International and Emerald’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICTS International	N/A	N/A	N/A
Emerald	-5.29%	-13.26%	-1.92%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.9% of Emerald shares are held by institutional investors. 62.4% of ICTS International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of Emerald shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for ICTS International and Emerald, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICTS International	0	0	0	0	0.00
Emerald	0	0	2	0	3.00

Emerald has a consensus price target of $7.90, suggesting a potential upside of 71.00%. Given Emerald’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Emerald is more favorable than ICTS International.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ICTS International and Emerald”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICTS International	$431.54 million	N/A	$7.08 million	N/A	N/A
Emerald	$382.80 million	2.45	-$8.20 million	($0.54)	-8.56

ICTS International has higher revenue and earnings than Emerald.

Summary

ICTS International beats Emerald on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ICTS International

ICTS International N.V. provides airport security and other aviation services, and authentication technology services in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, Spain, and internationally. It offers aviation security services, including security screening, behavior detection on crowds and queues, perimeter guarding/ patrolling, CCTV surveillance and/or alarm resolution, and vehicle marshalling. It also provides above wing security services, such as security interviewing, behavior detection, and escort of valuables and weapons; and handling services. In addition, it offers below wing services, comprising ramp and door guarding, interior and exterior searches, catering and bag room guarding, and selectee search; cargo security services, which include cargo screening, explosives detection dogs, access control, and vehicle marshalling services; private charter flight and cargo security screening, catering and aircraft Security Screening, aircraft search, and employee screening services; general security services, which comprise security search and screening, access control, perimeter guarding/patrolling, security host and reception, and CCTV surveillance and/or alarm resolution services; and training/consulting/auditing services. Further, it offers aviation security technology, including New Advanced Passenger Screening, an IT-system that enables pre-departure analysis of passenger information, and X-Check and I-Check that supports airline staff, security or filtering agents with customer processing; SaaS for identity verification and fraud prevention from physical and digital ID documents; and non-security services, such as agent services, guard services, queue monitors, aircraft cleaning, janitorial, skycap passengers luggage, wheelchair attendant, baggage handling, cruise line baggage transfer, VIP meet and greet services, equipment for passengers, and shuttle services to airline crews. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Schiphol, the Netherlands.

About Emerald

Emerald Holding, Inc. operates business-to-business (B2B) trade shows in the United States. The company provides B2B trade show franchises; and B2B print publications and digital media products, which provide industry specific business news and information across various sectors. It also offers B2B e-commerce and digital merchandising solutions to manufacturers and retailers through Elastic Suite and Bulletin platforms. The company serves retail, design, technology, equipment, and safety and security. Emerald Holding, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in New York, New York.