Comparing Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) and The Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX)

The Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX) and Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Risk and Volatility

The Descartes Systems Group has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Progress Software has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for The Descartes Systems Group and Progress Software, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Descartes Systems Group	0	2	8	2	3.00
Progress Software	0	2	4	0	2.67

The Descartes Systems Group presently has a consensus price target of $116.20, suggesting a potential upside of 42.19%. Progress Software has a consensus price target of $64.60, suggesting a potential upside of 52.25%. Given Progress Software’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Progress Software is more favorable than The Descartes Systems Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares The Descartes Systems Group and Progress Software”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Descartes Systems Group	$651.00 million	10.80	$143.27 million	$1.77	46.17
Progress Software	$977.83 million	1.83	$73.13 million	$1.66	25.56

The Descartes Systems Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Progress Software. Progress Software is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Descartes Systems Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares The Descartes Systems Group and Progress Software’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Descartes Systems Group	22.10%	10.57%	8.97%
Progress Software	7.48%	43.90%	8.28%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.7% of The Descartes Systems Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of The Descartes Systems Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Progress Software shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

The Descartes Systems Group beats Progress Software on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Descartes Systems Group

The Descartes Systems Group Inc. provides cloud-based logistics and supply chain management solutions worldwide. Its Logistics Technology platform offers a range of modular, interoperable web and wireless logistics management solutions. The company provides a suite of solutions that include routing, mobile, and telematics; transportation management; ecommerce, shipping, and fulfillment; customs and regulatory compliance; global trade intelligence; broker and forwarder enterprise systems; and B2B messaging and connectivity services. It also offers its customers to use its modular, software-as-a-service, and data solutions to route, schedule, track, and measure delivery resources; plan, allocate, and execute shipments; rate, audit, and pay transportation invoices; access and analyze global trade data; research and perform trade tariff and duty calculations; file customs and security documents for imports and exports; and various other logistics processes. In addition, the company provides consulting, implementation, and training services, as well as maintenance and support services. It serves transportation providers, such as air, ocean, and truck modes; logistics service providers, including third-party logistics providers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers; and distribution-intensive companies, such as manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and mobile business service providers through subscription, transactional or perpetual license basis. The Descartes Systems Group Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada.

About Progress Software

Progress Software Corporation develops, deploys, and manages business applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, an application development platform for running business-critical applications; Chef, a DevOps/DevSecOps automation software; Developer Tools that consists of software development tooling collection, including .NET and JavaScript UI components for web, desktop and mobile applications, reporting and report management tools, and automated testing and mocking tools; Kemp LoadMaster, an application delivery and security product offering cloud-native, and virtual and hardware load balancers; and Sitefinity, a digital experience platform foundation delivering intelligent and ROI-driving tools for marketers. It also provides MOVEit, a managed file transfer software for managing and controlling the movement of sensitive files and securing them both at-rest and in-transit; DataDirect, a secure data connectivity tools for Relational, NoSQL, Big Data and SaaS data sources; WhatsUp Gold, a network infrastructure monitoring software providing complete visibility of all network devices, servers, virtual machines, and cloud and wireless environments to find and fix network problems; Flowmon, a network security and visibility product with automated response across hybrid cloud ecosystems; Corticon, a decision automation platform to transform user experiences by streamlining and automating complex business rules; MarkLogic, a data agility platform to connect data and metadata; and Semaphore, a Semantic AI platform. The company offers project management, implementation, custom software development, programming, and other services, as well as web-enable applications; and training services. It sells its products to end users, independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, system integrators, value added resellers, and distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.