Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) and Wright Investors Service (OTCMKTS:WISH) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
45.4% of Morningstar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.1% of Wright Investors Service shares are held by institutional investors. 54.1% of Morningstar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.6% of Wright Investors Service shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Morningstar and Wright Investors Service, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Morningstar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Wright Investors Service | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Profitability
This table compares Morningstar and Wright Investors Service’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Morningstar | 15.04% | 17.99% | 10.35% |
| Wright Investors Service | N/A | -27.38% | -26.72% |
Volatility and Risk
Morningstar has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wright Investors Service has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Morningstar and Wright Investors Service’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Morningstar | $1.02 billion | 6.61 | $183.00 million | N/A | N/A |
| Wright Investors Service | $5.41 million | 1.67 | -$1.72 million | N/A | N/A |
Morningstar has higher revenue and earnings than Wright Investors Service.
Summary
Morningstar beats Wright Investors Service on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.
Morningstar Company Profile
Morningstar, Inc. provides independent investment research services in North America, Europe, Australia, Canada, Asia, and internationally. It offers a line of data, research, and software tools on a range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, fixed income securities, private capital markets, and real-time global market data for financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and individual and institutional investors. The company offers Morningstar Data, an investment data spanning various investment databases, including equity fundamentals, managed investments, and real-time pricing and market data; Morningstar Direct, an investment-analysis platform; Morningstar Managed Portfolios, an advisor service consisting of model portfolio that offers services for institutional asset management, as well as offers asset allocation services for asset management firms, broker-dealers, and insurance providers; Morningstar Advisor Workstation, a Web-based investment planning system; and Morningstar.com, a Website for individual investors. It also provides Morningstar Enterprise Components; Morningstar Research, which includes equity research and manager research; Morningstar Credit Ratings that provides new issue and surveillance ratings for structured finance securities, as well as corporate issuers and financial institutions, individual debt issuances, and operational risk assessment services; Morningstar Indexes for creating investment products; and Morningstar workplace solutions, such as retirement accounts, fiduciary services, and custom models. In addition, the company’s PitchBook offers a mobile application, excel plug-in, data feeds, and data solutions. Morningstar, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Wright Investors Service Company Profile
Wright Investors’ Service Holdings, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Winthrop Corporation, provides investment management, financial advisory, and investment research services to large and small investors in the United States. The company offers investment management products and services, including equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios for various plan types, such as defined benefit, annuity, self-directed and 401(k), health and welfare, and education and training plans to sponsors, trade unions, endowments, corporations, state and local governments, municipalities, and foundations. It also manages various accounts, such as discretionary investment accounts, individual retirement accounts, and 401k plans, as well as accounts for non-corporate fiduciaries comprising trustees, executors, guardians, personal representatives, attorneys, and other professionals to support high net worth investors and other individual investors; and provides a family of mutual funds. In addition, the company offers research products for institutional investors that include Wright Reports, a research report providing approximately 10 years of fundamental information for approximately 35,000 companies in 63 countries; and One-Page Report, a company specific single page report with approximately 10 years of history that contains valuation ratios, earnings, and dividends. Its research products also comprise Wright Industry Averages Reports, which are consolidated reports prepared on a Global and Regional basis for various industries; corporateInformation.com, an online commercial Website that offers subscription access to the universe of Wright Reports; Wright Fiduciary Lists; and Wright FIRST Investment Research Service, a financial management service to portfolio, trust, and investment professionals. The company is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
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