Critical Comparison: VerifyMe (NASDAQ:VRMEW) vs. The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO)

The GEO Group (NYSE:GEO) and VerifyMe (NASDAQ:VRMEW) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.1% of The GEO Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of The GEO Group shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares The GEO Group and VerifyMe’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The GEO Group	4.72%	9.43%	3.18%
VerifyMe	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for The GEO Group and VerifyMe, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The GEO Group	0	0	2	0	3.00
VerifyMe	0	0	0	0	N/A

The GEO Group currently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.08%. Given The GEO Group’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe The GEO Group is more favorable than VerifyMe.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares The GEO Group and VerifyMe’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The GEO Group	$2.41 billion	0.79	$107.32 million	$0.76	19.72
VerifyMe	$25.31 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

The GEO Group has higher revenue and earnings than VerifyMe.

Summary

The GEO Group beats VerifyMe on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The GEO Group

The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) engages in ownership, leasing, and management of secure facilities, processing centers, and community-based reentry facilities in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. The company also provides secure facility management services, including the provision of security, administrative, rehabilitation, education, and food services; reentry services, such as temporary housing, programming, employment assistance, and other services; electronic monitoring and supervision services; and transportation services; as well as designs, constructs, and finances new facilities through projects. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida.

About VerifyMe

VerifyMe, Inc., together with its subsidiary, PeriShip Global, LLC, operates as a technology solutions provider that specializes in products to connect brands with consumers and providing brands with end-to-end logistics management for their products. The company operates through two segments, VerifyMe Solutions and PeriShip Global Solutions. The VerifyMe Solutions segment offers technology solutions to connect brands with consumers allowing brand owners to gather business intelligence while engaging directly with their consumers. Its solutions provide brand protection and supply chain functions, such as counterfeit prevention, traceability, consumer engagement solutions, and authentication for labels, packaging, and products, as well as tamper-proof labels. The PeriShip Global Solutions segment offers predictive analytics for optimizing delivery of time and temperature sensitive perishable products. This segment's products include PeriTrack customer dashboard, an integrated web portal tool gives its customers an in-depth look at their shipping activities based on real-time data. It also provides call center, pre-transit, post-delivery, and weather/traffic services. The company has a strategic partnership with INX International Ink Company. The company was formerly known as LaserLock Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to VerifyMe, Inc. in July 2015. VerifyMe, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida.