Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC – Get Free Report) and Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Quest Resource and Liquidity Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Quest Resource | -7.07% | -14.75% | -3.78% |
| Liquidity Services | 6.79% | 17.60% | 9.86% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Quest Resource and Liquidity Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Quest Resource | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Liquidity Services | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3.33 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
48.2% of Quest Resource shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.2% of Liquidity Services shares are held by institutional investors. 19.6% of Quest Resource shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 28.1% of Liquidity Services shares are held by 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.
Risk and Volatility
Quest Resource has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Liquidity Services has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Quest Resource and Liquidity Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Quest Resource | $250.22 million | 0.12 | -$15.38 million | ($0.82) | -1.71 |
| Liquidity Services | $489.62 million | 2.67 | $28.09 million | $1.02 | 40.83 |
Liquidity Services has higher revenue and earnings than Quest Resource. Quest Resource is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Liquidity Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Liquidity Services beats Quest Resource on 15 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Quest Resource
Quest Resource Holding Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides solutions for the reuse, recycling, and disposal of various waste streams and recyclables in the United States. The company provides disposal and recycling services for motor oil and automotive lubricants, oil filters, scrap tires, oily water, goods destruction, food waste, meat renderings, cooking oil and grease trap waste, plastics, cardboard, metal, glass, mixed paper, construction debris, as well as a large variety of regulated and non-regulated solid, liquid, and gas wastes. It offers antifreeze and windshield washer fluid, dumpster and compacting equipment, and other minor ancillary services. In addition, the company offers landfill diversion services. Its services focus on the waste streams and recyclables from big box, grocers, and other retailers; automotive maintenance, quick lube, dealerships, and collision repair; transportation, logistics, and internal fleet operators; manufacturing plants; multi-family and commercial properties; restaurant chains and food operations; and construction and demolition projects. The company markets its services to automotive, manufacturing, hospitality and retail, construction and demolition, and commercial and multi-family property management industries through direct sales force and strategic partnerships. The company was formerly known as Infinity Resources Holdings Corp. and changed its name to Quest Resource Holding Corporation in October 2013. Quest Resource Holding Corporation is headquartered in The Colony, Texas.
About Liquidity Services
Liquidity Services, Inc. provides e-commerce marketplaces, self-directed auction listing tools, and value-added services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: GovDeals, Retail Supply Chain Group (RSCG), Capital Assets Group (CAG), and Machinio. Its marketplaces include liquidation.com that enable corporations to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and retail capital assets; GovDeals marketplace, which provides self-directed service solutions in which sellers list their own assets that enables local and state government entities, and commercial businesses located in the United States and Canada to sell surplus and salvage assets; and AllSurplus, a centralized marketplace that connects global buyer base with assets from across the network of marketplaces in a single destination. The company also offers a suite of services, including surplus management, asset valuation, asset sales, marketing, returns management, asset recovery, and ecommerce services. In addition, it operates a global search engine platform for listing used equipment for sale in the construction, machine tool, transportation, printing, and agriculture sectors. The company offers products from industry verticals, such as consumer electronics, general merchandise, apparel, scientific equipment, aerospace parts and equipment, technology hardware, real estate, energy equipment, industrial capital assets, heavy equipment, fleet and transportation equipment, and specialty equipment. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
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