National Research (NRC) Competitors

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) and Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Is NRC or UPBD more profitable?

National Research has a net margin of 17.14% compared to Upbound Group's net margin of 2.74%. National Research's return on equity of 71.33% beat Upbound Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Research	17.14%	71.33%	18.67%
Upbound Group	2.74%	36.30%	8.39%

Is NRC or UPBD a better dividend stock?

National Research pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Upbound Group pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. National Research pays out 46.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Upbound Group pays out 73.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Upbound Group has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Upbound Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in NRC or UPBD?

47.3% of National Research shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.3% of Upbound Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of National Research shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Upbound Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, NRC or UPBD?

National Research has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Upbound Group has a beta of 1.74, suggesting that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, NRC or UPBD?

Upbound Group has higher revenue and earnings than National Research. Upbound Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Research, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Research	$141.30M	2.41	$24.78M	$1.03	14.51
Upbound Group	$4.32B	0.33	$123.48M	$2.13	11.73

Does the media refer more to NRC or UPBD?

In the previous week, Upbound Group had 3 more articles in the media than National Research. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Upbound Group and 1 mentions for National Research. Upbound Group's average media sentiment score of 1.03 beat National Research's score of 0.32 indicating that Upbound Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
National Research	Neutral
Upbound Group	Positive

Do analysts rate NRC or UPBD?

Upbound Group has a consensus target price of $34.50, suggesting a potential upside of 38.06%. Given Upbound Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Upbound Group is more favorable than National Research.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Research	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Upbound Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Summary

Upbound Group beats National Research on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.