Contrasting Western Union (NYSE:WU) and Repay (NASDAQ:RPAY)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.7% of Repay shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Western Union shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.0% of Repay shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Western Union has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Repay has a beta of 1.86, suggesting that its share price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Western Union and Repay”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Union	$4.05 billion	0.56	$499.60 million	$1.36	5.33
Repay	$309.26 million	0.98	-$256.72 million	($3.06)	-1.04

Western Union has higher revenue and earnings than Repay. Repay is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Western Union, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Western Union and Repay, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Union	6	7	0	0	1.54
Repay	1	4	3	0	2.25

Western Union currently has a consensus target price of $8.82, indicating a potential upside of 21.71%. Repay has a consensus target price of $5.32, indicating a potential upside of 67.34%. Given Repay’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Repay is more favorable than Western Union.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Union	10.88%	55.94%	6.39%
Repay	-82.73%	10.45%	4.56%

Summary

Western Union beats Repay on 8 of the 14 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 Repay

Repay Holdings Corporation, payments technology company, provides integrated payment processing solutions to industry-oriented markets in the United States. It operates through two segments: Consumer Payments and Business Payments. The company's payment processing solutions enable consumers and businesses to make payments using electronic payment methods. It also offers a range of solutions relating to electronic payment methods, including credit and debit card processing, automated clearing house (ACH) processing, e-cash, and digital wallet services; virtual credit card processing, enhanced ACH processing, instant funding, clearing and settlement, and communication solutions; and proprietary payment channels that include Web-based, virtual terminal, online client portal, mobile application, text-to-pay, interactive voice response, and point of sale services. It serves customers primarily operating in the personal loans, automotive loans, receivables management, and business-to-business verticals through direct sales representatives and software integration partners. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.