Head to Head Review: Aeries Technology (NASDAQ:AERT) vs. TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI)
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyTrueBlue (NYSE:TBI – Get Free Report) and Aeries Technology (NASDAQ:AERT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, earnings and profitability.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
97.2% of TrueBlue shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.2% of Aeries Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of TrueBlue shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 63.6% of Aeries Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for TrueBlue and Aeries Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| TrueBlue | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Aeries Technology | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
TrueBlue presently has a consensus target price of $9.50, indicating a potential downside of 21.28%. Given TrueBlue’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe TrueBlue is more favorable than Aeries Technology.
Profitability
This table compares TrueBlue and Aeries Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| TrueBlue | -2.55% | -2.85% | -1.17% |
| Aeries Technology | 3.68% | -114.69% | 6.81% |
Risk & Volatility
TrueBlue has a beta of 1.74, meaning that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aeries Technology has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares TrueBlue and Aeries Technology”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| TrueBlue | $1.62 billion | 0.23 | -$47.96 million | ($1.54) | -7.84 |
| Aeries Technology | $76.60 million | 0.37 | $2.55 million | $0.43 | 12.63 |
Aeries Technology has lower revenue, but higher earnings than TrueBlue. TrueBlue is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aeries Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Aeries Technology beats TrueBlue on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About TrueBlue
TrueBlue, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized workforce solutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Puerto Rico. It operates through three segments: PeopleReady, PeopleManagement, and PeopleScout. The company PeopleReady segment provides general, industrial, and skilled trade contingent staffing services for construction, transportation, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and renewable energy industries. The PeopleManagement segment offers contingent, on-site industrial staffing, and commercial driver services, which includes on-site management and recruitment for the contingent industrial workforce of manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution facilities; and recruitment and management of contingent and dedicated commercial drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Staff Management, SIMOS Insourcing Solutions, and Centerline Drivers brands. The company PeopleScout segment provides recruitment process outsourcing, talent advisory services, and managed service provider solutions including sourcing, screening, hiring, and onboarding services; operates Affinix, a technology platform for sourcing, screening, and delivering a permanent workforce to its clients; talent advisory services, such as employer branding, recruitment marketing, talent insights, diversity, equity and inclusion consulting, candidate assessment, and talent acquisition strategy consulting services; and contingent labor programs including vendor selection, performance management, compliance monitoring, and risk management. TrueBlue, Inc. was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. The company was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.
About Aeries Technology
Aeries Technology, Inc. operates as a professional services and consulting partner in the North America, Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company offers management consultancy services for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, including software solutions, product management, IT infrastructure, information and cyber security, ERP and CRM platform management, business process management, and digital transformation services. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Singapore.