Reviewing LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) & Agent Information Software (OTCMKTS:AIFS)

Agent Information Software (OTCMKTS:AIFS) and LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Agent Information Software pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. LegalZoom.com pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.6%. Agent Information Software pays out 75.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LegalZoom.com pays out 1,107.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Risk and Volatility

Agent Information Software has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LegalZoom.com has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Agent Information Software and LegalZoom.com, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agent Information Software	0	0	0	0	0.00
LegalZoom.com	2	6	1	0	1.89

LegalZoom.com has a consensus target price of $8.79, suggesting a potential upside of 7.54%. Given LegalZoom.com’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LegalZoom.com is more favorable than Agent Information Software.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.8% of Agent Information Software shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of LegalZoom.com shares are held by institutional investors. 10.5% of LegalZoom.com shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Agent Information Software and LegalZoom.com’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agent Information Software	3.62%	N/A	N/A
LegalZoom.com	3.61%	32.88%	9.31%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Agent Information Software and LegalZoom.com”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agent Information Software	$5.41 million	1.24	$200,000.00	$0.04	36.25
LegalZoom.com	$678.84 million	2.08	$13.95 million	$0.13	62.85

LegalZoom.com has higher revenue and earnings than Agent Information Software. Agent Information Software is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LegalZoom.com, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

LegalZoom.com beats Agent Information Software on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agent Information Software

Agent Information Software, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides software products and services used to create, manage, publish, and access information content via Internet or Web. It offers its software products and services to customers in the library community in the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

About LegalZoom.com

LegalZoom.com, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates an online platform that supports the legal, compliance, and business management needs of small businesses and consumers in the United States. The company’s platform offers business formation products, such as limited liability company, incorporation of C and S corporations, nonprofit formations, doing-business-as, corporate changes and filings, business licenses, legal forms, and beneficial ownership information reports; intellectual property products consisting of trademark and patent applications, and copyright registrations; and tax services, including business and personal tax preparations. It also provides consumer, estate planning, and other services comprising last will and testament, living will, living trust, power of attorney, and name change. In addition, the company offers subscriptions services, including registered agent, compliance, attorney advice, tax advice and preparation, eSignature, virtual mail and check deposit services, trademark monitoring, and estate planning bundle. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.