Fact based stock research
HireQuest (NasdaqCM:HQI)

US4335351015

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

HireQuest stock research in summary

hirequest.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 50 (better than 50% compared with investment alternatives), HireQuest (HR- & Employment Services, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of HireQuest are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 41 (worse than 59% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 49) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 76), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 50, is a buy recommendation based on HireQuest's financial characteristics. As the company HireQuest's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 41) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 49), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 76) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	41
Growth Rank	49
Safety Rank	76
Combined Rank	50

Country	USA
Industry	HR- & Employment Services
Index	NASDAQ
Size class	X-Small

19-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: HireQuest

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	32	39	53	41
GROWTH
GROWTH	97	89	67	49
SAFETY
SAFETY	39	62	50	76
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	14	17	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	40	42	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 19-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better HireQuest is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	32	39	53	41
GROWTH
GROWTH	97	89	67	49
SAFETY
SAFETY	39	62	50	76
COMBINED
COMBINED	67	69	61	50

Last update of combined financial performance: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of HireQuest the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 41 (worse than 59% compared with alternatives), HireQuest shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for HireQuest. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 57 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 57% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning HireQuest's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 40, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 40% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 84% of alternatives (only 16% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 11% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 41, is a hold recommendation based on HireQuest's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	3	14	14	16
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	72	42	59	57
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	24	35	41	40
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	66	83	85	89
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	32	39	53	41

Last update of Value Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of HireQuest; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 49 (better than 49% compared with alternatives), HireQuest shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below-average for HireQuest. While Sales Growth ranks at 59, professionals currently expect the company to grow more than 59% of its competitors, while all other growth ranks are below the market median. Profit Growth has a rank of 41, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 59% of its competitors, and Capital Growth has a low rank of 31. Historic stock returns were also below average with a current Stock Returns rank of 47 which means that the stock returns have recently been below 53% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 49, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. If revenues are expected to increase, but all other growth indicators are negative, the company may be investing in future growth through means not visible in the balance sheet and thus not reflected in capital growth. The fact that Stock Returns have been below market doesn't mean that much, as it may be due to overly optimistic investor behavior in the past, which has been corrected to a more reasonable level recently. If that were the case, a positive Value Rank would be a reason to invest because the company is still expected to grow, while stock prices are now at a more reasonable level. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance isn't stellar here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	65	59	23	59
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	n/a	4	44	41
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	99	91	31
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	96	93	41	47
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	97	89	67	49

Last update of Growth Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of HireQuest.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 76 (better than 76% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company HireQuest has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of HireQuest is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for HireQuest. Leverage is at a rank of 56, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 56% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 100, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 100% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 47, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 53% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 76 (better than 76% compared with alternatives), HireQuest has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for HireQuest. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. Investors may have a short-term debt challenge with HireQuest and should also compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before making a decision. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	48	100	46	56
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	72	42	38	47
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	21	94	78	100
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	39	62	50	76

Last update of Safety Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of HireQuest and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	60	100	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	50	1	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	18	19	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	18	9	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	14	17	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 19-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for HireQuest.
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