Critical Comparison: ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) versus Clarivate (NYSE:CLVT)

ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) and Clarivate (NYSE:CLVT) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.1% of ICF International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.7% of Clarivate shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of ICF International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.9% of Clarivate shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ICF International and Clarivate”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICF International	$1.87 billion	0.76	$91.59 million	$4.83	16.50
Clarivate	$2.46 billion	0.61	-$201.10 million	($0.61)	-3.83

ICF International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Clarivate. Clarivate is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ICF International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

ICF International has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clarivate has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for ICF International and Clarivate, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICF International	0	2	2	0	2.50
Clarivate	3	5	1	0	1.78

ICF International currently has a consensus target price of $105.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.78%. Clarivate has a consensus target price of $2.65, suggesting a potential upside of 13.49%. Given ICF International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe ICF International is more favorable than Clarivate.

Profitability

This table compares ICF International and Clarivate’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICF International	5.29%	11.95%	5.99%
Clarivate	-17.02%	9.84%	4.29%

Summary

ICF International beats Clarivate on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ICF International

ICF International, Inc. provides management, technology, and policy consulting and implementation services to government and commercial clients in the United States and internationally. The company researches critical policy, industry, stakeholder issues, trends, and behaviors; measures and evaluates results and their impact; and provides strategic planning and advisory services to its clients on how to navigate societal, business, market, business, communication, and technology challenges. It also identifies, defines, and implements policies, plans, programs, and business tools through a range of standard and customized methodologies for its clients' business context; conducts survey research; collects and analyzes various data to understand critical issues and options for its clients; and provides actionable business intelligence, as well as information and data management solutions that allow integrated and purpose-driven data usage. In addition, the company provides solutions to optimize the customer and citizen experience; modernizes IT systems; and cyber security solutions that support the range of cyber security missions and protect IT infrastructures in the face of relentless threats, as well as designs, develops, and implements technology systems and business tools that are key to its clients' mission or business performance. Further, it informs and engages its clients' constituents, customers, and employees through public relations, branding and marketing, multichannel and strategic communications, and reputation issues management. The company serves energy, environment, infrastructure, and disaster recovery; health and social programs; and security and other civilian and commercial markets. The company was formerly known as ICF Consulting Group Holdings, LLC and changed its name to ICF International, Inc. in 2006. ICF International, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

About Clarivate

Clarivate Plc operates as an information services provider in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through three segments: Academia & Government, Life Sciences & Healthcare, and Intellectual Property. The company offers Web of Science and InCites, that analyzes and explores the academic research landscape and manages research information; ProQuest One and Ebook Central that provides comprehensive content collections to institutions in a cost-effective manner; and Alma and Polaris, that manages academic resources and services, connect users, and support research publications. It also provides Patent and Trademark Renewals, that supports paralegal and admin tasks throughout the patent and trademark protection and maintenance process; CompuMark and Derwent, that supports critical decisions around patent and trademark protection, risk, and value creation throughout the innovation and brand lifecycle; IPFolio and Foundation IP that creates a structured environment for the protection and management of global patent and trademark assets. In addition, the company offers Cortellis Competitive Intelligence and Cortellis Drug Discovery Intelligence, that supports the development of new drugs and medical devices from discovery to clinical trials; Cortellis Regulatory Intelligence and OFF-X to monitor drug safety issues and adhere to regulatory protocols; Real World Data and Optimize that inform commercial launch strategy and set pricing for optimal reimbursement. It serves corporations, universities, law firms, government agencies, public libraries, and other professional services organizations. The company was formerly known as Clarivate Analytics Plc and changed its name to Clarivate Plc in May 2020. Clarivate Plc was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.