PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) Critical Comparison

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Jack Henry & Associates and PayPal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jack Henry & Associates	19.76%	23.49%	16.34%
PayPal	14.36%	24.39%	6.06%

Dividends

Jack Henry & Associates pays an annual dividend of $2.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. PayPal pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Jack Henry & Associates pays out 35.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. PayPal pays out 10.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Jack Henry & Associates has raised its dividend for 35 consecutive years. Jack Henry & Associates is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Jack Henry & Associates and PayPal, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jack Henry & Associates	0	5	13	1	2.79
PayPal	6	31	8	0	2.04

Jack Henry & Associates presently has a consensus target price of $190.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.46%. PayPal has a consensus target price of $55.94, indicating a potential downside of 2.19%. Given Jack Henry & Associates’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Jack Henry & Associates is more favorable than PayPal.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Jack Henry & Associates and PayPal”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jack Henry & Associates	$2.54 billion	4.42	$502.78 million	$6.97	23.01
PayPal	$33.17 billion	1.47	$5.23 billion	$5.29	10.81

PayPal has higher revenue and earnings than Jack Henry & Associates. PayPal is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Jack Henry & Associates, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Jack Henry & Associates has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PayPal has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.8% of Jack Henry & Associates shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.3% of PayPal shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Jack Henry & Associates shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of PayPal shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Jack Henry & Associates beats PayPal on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jack Henry & Associates

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. is a financial technology company, which engages in the provision of technology solutions and payment processing services. It operates through the following segments: Core, Payments, Complementary, and Corporate and Other. The Core segment provides core information processing platforms to banks and credit unions which consist of integrated applications required to process deposit, loan, and general ledger transactions, and maintain centralized customer and member information. The Payments segment includes secure payment processing tools and services including ATM, debit, and credit card processing services, online and mobile bill pay solutions, ACH origination and remote deposit capture processing, and risk management products and services. The Complementary segment focuses on additional software, hosted processing platforms, and services including call center support, network security management, consulting, and monitoring. The Corporate and Other segment offers hardware and other products. The company was founded by Jerry D. Hall and John W. Henry in 1976 and is headquartered in Monett, MO.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards. The company provides payment solutions under the PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom, Zettle, Hyperwallet, Honey, and Paidy names. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.