Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) and Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations. \n\nRisk & Volatility\nLiquidity Services has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Copart has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. \n\nEarnings and Valuation\nThis table compares Liquidity Services and Copart’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.\n\n\nGross Revenue\nPrice/Sales Ratio\nNet Income\nEarnings Per Share\nPrice/Earnings Ratio\n\nLiquidity Services\n$363.32 million\n2.16\n$19.99 million\n$0.79\n31.78\n\nCopart\n$4.24 billion\n10.56\n$1.36 billion\n$1.52\n30.44\n\nCopart has higher revenue and earnings than Liquidity Services. Copart is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Liquidity Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. \n\nInstitutional & Insider Ownership\n71.2% of Liquidity Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.8% of Copart shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.4% of Liquidity Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Copart shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.\n\nAnalyst Ratings\nThis is a breakdown of current ratings and recommendations for Liquidity Services and Copart, as provided by MarketBeat. \n\n\nSell Ratings\nHold Ratings\nBuy Ratings\nStrong Buy Ratings\nRating Score\n\nLiquidity Services\n0\n0\n2\n0\n3.00\n\nCopart\n0\n3\n1\n0\n2.25\n\nLiquidity Services presently has a consensus price target of $38.50, suggesting a potential upside of 53.33%. Copart has a consensus price target of $53.33, suggesting a potential upside of 15.27%. Given Liquidity Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Liquidity Services is more favorable than Copart.\n\nProfitability\nThis table compares Liquidity Services and Copart’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.\n\n\nNet Margins\nReturn on Equity\nReturn on Assets\n\nLiquidity Services\n6.31%\n20.89%\n11.33%\n\nCopart\n32.21%\n18.20%\n16.36%\n\nAbout Liquidity Services\nLiquidity 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.\n\nAbout Copart\nCopart, Inc. provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services. It offers a range of services for processing and selling vehicles over the Internet through its Virtual Bidding Third Generation Internet auction-style sales technology on behalf of vehicle sellers, insurance companies, banks and finance companies, charities, and fleet operators and dealers, as well as individual owners. The company’s services include online seller access, salvage estimation, estimating, end-of-life vehicle processing, virtual insured exchange, transportation, vehicle inspection stations, on-demand reporting, motor vehicle regulatory agency processing, flexible vehicle processing programs, buy it now, member network, sales process, and dealer services. Its services also include buying vehicles through CashForCars.com and Copart Direct. The company sells its products principally to licensed vehicle dismantlers, rebuilders, repair licensees, used vehicle dealers, and exporters, as well as to the general public. It operates in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Spain. Copart, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Reviewing Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) & Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT)

The article compares Liquidity Services and Copart based on financial metrics, including revenue, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, and analyst ratings, to evaluate which company is a better investment.