Reviewing Paypoint (OTCMKTS:PYPTF) & Western Union (NYSE:WU)

Western Union (NYSE:WU) and Paypoint (OTCMKTS:PYPTF) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Western Union and Paypoint’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Union	21.83%	66.11%	7.04%
Paypoint	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Western Union and Paypoint, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Union	5	7	0	0	1.58
Paypoint	0	0	0	0	0.00

Western Union currently has a consensus target price of $8.61, suggesting a potential upside of 8.18%. Given Western Union’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Western Union is more favorable than Paypoint.

Volatility and Risk

Western Union has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paypoint has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Western Union shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Western Union and Paypoint”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Union	$4.10 billion	0.63	$934.20 million	$2.64	3.02
Paypoint	$391.23 million	1.67	$24.49 million	N/A	N/A

Western Union has higher revenue and earnings than Paypoint.

Summary

Western Union beats Paypoint on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices. The Consumer Services segments offers bill payment services, which facilitate payments for consumers, businesses, and other organizations, as well as money order services, retail foreign exchange services, prepaid cards, lending partnerships, and digital wallets. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Paypoint

PayPoint plc engages in the provision of payments and banking, shopping, and e-commerce services and products in the United Kingdom. The company operates through two segments: PayPoint and Love2shop. The PayPoint segment provides card payment services to retailers, including leased payment devices; EPoS; ATM cash machines; SIM cards sales; receipt advertising; bill payment services and cash top-ups to individual consumers; parcel delivery and collection services; retailer service fees solutions; and digital payment services, as well as cash through to digital services. The segment offers its products under PayPoint One, eMoney, MultiPay, CashOut, and Direct Debits platforms. The Love2shop segment is involved in the provision of shopping vouchers, cards, and e-codes which customers may redeem with participating retailers; and Christmas savings club, to which customers make regular payments throughout the year to help spread the cost of Christmas, before converting to a voucher. It serves consumers, SMEs, and convenience retailers in the commercial, not-for-profit, and public sectors. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, the United Kingdom.