Head to Head Analysis: Expensify (NASDAQ:EXFY) & Western Union (NYSE:WU)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Western Union and Expensify”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Union	$4.05 billion	0.69	$499.60 million	$1.36	6.53
Expensify	$142.10 million	1.09	-$21.39 million	($0.23)	-7.96

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

Volatility & Risk

Western Union has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Expensify has a beta of 1.68, meaning that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Western Union and Expensify, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Union	6	6	0	0	1.50
Expensify	1	1	0	0	1.50

Western Union presently has a consensus price target of $8.45, indicating a potential downside of 4.90%. Expensify has a consensus price target of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 36.61%. Given Expensify’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Expensify is more favorable than Western Union.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.4% of Expensify shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Western Union shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of Expensify shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Western Union and Expensify’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%
Expensify	-14.68%	-15.26%	-10.96%

Summary

Western Union beats Expensify on 8 of the 12 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 Expensify

Expensify, Inc. provides a cloud-based expense management software platform to individuals and corporations, small and midsized businesses, and enterprises in the United States and internationally. The company’s platform enables users to manage corporate cards, pay bills, generate invoices, collect payments, and book travel. It also offers track and submit plans for individuals. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Portland, Oregon.