Financial Survey: Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) & WEX (NYSE:WEX)

WEX (NYSE:WEX) and Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for WEX and Paymentus, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WEX	0	8	5	1	2.50
Paymentus	0	5	2	2	2.67

WEX presently has a consensus price target of $191.10, suggesting a potential upside of 6.32%. Paymentus has a consensus price target of $38.86, suggesting a potential upside of 14.95%. Given Paymentus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Paymentus is more favorable than WEX.

Risk & Volatility

WEX has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paymentus has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares WEX and Paymentus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WEX	14.05%	45.74%	3.66%
Paymentus	6.65%	16.14%	13.57%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.5% of WEX shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Paymentus shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of WEX shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 55.7% of Paymentus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares WEX and Paymentus”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WEX	$2.66 billion	2.22	$304.10 million	$11.62	15.47
Paymentus	$1.20 billion	3.56	$66.94 million	$0.73	46.31

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

Summary

Paymentus beats WEX on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WEX

WEX Inc. is a financial technology company that provides payment processing and business management solutions. Founded in 1983 as Wright Express, the company adopted the WEX name in 2012 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine. WEX’s fleet business offers payment cards and related services for commercial and government fleets, including tools to manage fuel purchases, vehicle expenses and fleet operations. Its travel and corporate payments business provides solutions such as virtual cards and payment services for travel companies and other businesses.

About Paymentus

Paymentus Holdings, Inc. provides cloud-based billing and payment technology for businesses and public-sector organizations. Its platform helps billers present bills, accept and process payments, and communicate with customers through digital and other payment channels. The company serves organizations in sectors such as utilities, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, and telecommunications. Its services support multiple payment methods and are designed to integrate with clients’ billing and customer-management systems.