Head-To-Head Survey: Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock (NASDAQ:PHLT) and Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A (OTCMKTS:ASCMA)

Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock (NASDAQ:PHLT) and Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A (OTCMKTS:ASCMA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock and Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock	0	0	0	1	4.00
Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock and Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock	$122.98 million	1.91	-$7.52 million	($0.13)	-23.08
Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.2% of Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.2% of Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock and Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock	-6.74%	-10.19%	-7.83%
Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A	N/A	N/A	N/A

About Performant Healthcare, Inc. – Common Stock

Performant Healthcare, Inc. engages in the provision of technology-enabled audit, recovery, customer care, and related analytics services. Its services help identify improper payments, and in some markets, restructure and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Plantation, FL.

About Ascent Capital Group Inc Series A

Ascent Capital Group, Inc., through its subsidiary, Monitronics International, Inc., provides security alarm monitoring services to residential and commercial customers in the United States, Canada, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The company provides monitoring services for alarm signals arising from burglaries, fires, medical alerts, and other events through security systems at customers' premises. It also offers home automation services, including remote activation and control of security systems, support for video monitoring, flood sensors, automated garage door and door lock capabilities, and thermostat integration; hands-free two-way interactive voice communication between its monitoring center and customers; and customer service and technical support related to home monitoring systems and home automation services. The company also provides maintenance and wholesale contract monitoring services to other security alarm companies. It markets and sells its products through a network of authorized dealers. The company was formerly known as Ascent Media Corporation and changed its name to Ascent Capital Group, Inc. in July 2011. Ascent Capital Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado.