Reviewing TSS (NASDAQ:TSSI) and KBR (NYSE:KBR)

KBR (NYSE:KBR) and TSS (NASDAQ:TSSI) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares KBR and TSS”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KBR	$7.74 billion	0.68	$375.00 million	$2.91	14.20
TSS	$148.00 million	1.59	$5.98 million	$0.20	40.70

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

Risk and Volatility

KBR has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TSS has a beta of 2.07, suggesting that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.0% of KBR shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of KBR shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.9% of TSS shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for KBR and TSS, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KBR	0	6	5	0	2.45
TSS	0	1	1	0	2.50

KBR currently has a consensus price target of $57.00, indicating a potential upside of 37.97%. TSS has a consensus price target of $17.75, indicating a potential upside of 118.06%. Given TSS’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe TSS is more favorable than KBR.

Profitability

This table compares KBR and TSS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KBR	4.71%	35.14%	7.63%
TSS	2.08%	21.81%	3.79%

Summary

KBR beats TSS on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KBR

KBR, Inc. provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Its services cover research and development, advanced prototyping, acquisition support, systems engineering, cyber analytics, space domain awareness, test and evaluation, systems integration and program management, global supply chain management, and operations readiness and support, as well as command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services. This segment also provides various professional advisory services to the defense, renewable energy, and critical infrastructure sectors. The Sustainable Technology Solutions segment operates portfolio of various proprietary process technologies for ammonia/syngas, chemical/petrochemicals, clean refining, and circular process/circular economy solutions. This segment also provides synergistic services, including advisory and consulting focused on broad-based energy transition and net-zero carbon emission solutions; high-end engineering, design and program management centered around decarbonization, energy efficiency, environmental impact and asset optimization; and digitally-enabled operating and monitoring solutions. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About TSS

TSS, Inc. offers planning, design, engineering, construction management, commissioning and maintenance services. It provides these services primarily for specialized facilities such as data centers, communications rooms, call centers, laboratories, trading floors, network operations centers, medical facilities and similar environments. TSS Inc., formerly known as Fortress International Group, Inc., is based in Columbia, United States.