Critical Comparison: PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) & Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI)

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT) and Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PJT Partners and Acadian Asset Management”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PJT Partners	$1.49 billion	2.36	$238.47 million	$4.90	30.35
Acadian Asset Management	$505.60 million	1.80	$85.00 million	$2.24	10.82

PJT Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Acadian Asset Management. Acadian Asset Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PJT Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

PJT Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Acadian Asset Management pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. PJT Partners pays out 20.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Acadian Asset Management pays out 1.8% 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.

Profitability

This table compares PJT Partners and Acadian Asset Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PJT Partners	9.00%	24.03%	14.36%
Acadian Asset Management	16.81%	1,000.27%	18.11%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.2% of PJT Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.7% of Acadian Asset Management shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.7% of PJT Partners shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.7% of Acadian Asset Management shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for PJT Partners and Acadian Asset Management, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PJT Partners	0	5	0	0	2.00
Acadian Asset Management	0	1	0	0	2.00

PJT Partners currently has a consensus price target of $158.50, suggesting a potential upside of 6.57%. Acadian Asset Management has a consensus price target of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.43%. Given Acadian Asset Management’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Acadian Asset Management is more favorable than PJT Partners.

Risk & Volatility

PJT Partners has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acadian Asset Management has a beta of 1.54, indicating that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Acadian Asset Management beats PJT Partners on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PJT Partners

PJT Partners Inc., an investment bank, provides various strategic and capital markets advisory, restructuring and special situations, and shareholder advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. It offers advisory services to clients on various transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), spin-offs, activism defense, contested M&A, joint ventures, minority investments, and divestitures. The company also advises private and public company boards and management teams on strategies for building productive investor relationships with a focus on shareholder engagement; and strategic investor relations; environmental, social, and governance matters; and other investor-related matters. In addition, it provides advisory services related to debt and acquisition financings; structured product offerings; public equity raises, including initial public offering and SPAC offerings; and private capital raises for early and later stage companies, as well as other capital structure related matters. Further, the company offers advisory services in financial restructurings and reorganizations; liability management; distressed mergers and acquisitions; and to management teams, corporate boards, sponsors and creditors. Additionally, it provides private fund advisory and fundraising services for a range of investment strategies; and advisory services to general and partners on liquidity and other structured solutions. The company was formerly known as Blackstone Advisory Inc. and changed its name to PJT Partners Inc. in March 2015. PJT Partners Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Acadian Asset Management

Acadian Asset Management Inc. is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries. The firm was founded in 1980 is based Boston, Massachusetts. It was formally known as BrightSphere Investment Group plc. BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. was formed in 1980 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.