Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) and Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS – Get Rating) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Western Union and Fidelity National Information Services' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
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| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
| Western Union | 18.27% | 239.89% | 10.46% |
| Fidelity National Information Services | 5.88% | 8.95% | 5.17% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Western Union and Fidelity National Information Services' revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
| Western Union | $5.07 billion | 1.03 | $805.80 million | $2.23 | 6.05 |
| Fidelity National Information Services | $13.88 billion | 3.31 | $417.00 million | $1.38 | 54.76 |
Western Union has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Fidelity National Information Services. Western Union is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fidelity National Information Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
97.4% of Western Union shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.4% of Fidelity National Information Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Western Union shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Fidelity National Information Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Western Union and Fidelity National Information Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
| Western Union | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1.64 |
| Fidelity National Information Services | 1 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 2.79 |
Western Union presently has a consensus price target of $18.54, suggesting a potential upside of 37.30%. Fidelity National Information Services has a consensus price target of $123.46, suggesting a potential upside of 63.38%. Given Fidelity National Information Services' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Fidelity National Information Services is more favorable than Western Union.
Risk and Volatility
Western Union has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fidelity National Information Services has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Western Union pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. Fidelity National Information Services pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Western Union pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fidelity National Information Services pays out 136.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Western Union has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years and Fidelity National Information Services has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Western Union is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Western Union beats Fidelity National Information Services on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Western Union
(Get Rating)
The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Consumer-to-Consumer and Business Solutions. The Consumer-to-Consumer segment facilitates money transfers between two consumers, primarily through a network of third-party agents and sub-agents; and offers international cross-border transfers and intra-country transfers, as well as money transfer transactions through websites and mobile devices. The Business Solutions segment provides payment and foreign exchange solutions, primarily cross-border and cross-currency transactions for small and medium size enterprises, other organizations, and individuals; and foreign currency forward and option contracts. It also offers bill payment services that facilitates payments from consumers to businesses and other organizations, as well as offers money order and other services. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
About Fidelity National Information Services
(Get Rating)
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. provides technology solutions for merchants, banks, and capital markets firms worldwide. It operates through Merchant Solutions, Banking Solutions, and Capital Market Solutions segments. The Merchant Solutions segment offers enterprise acquiring, software-led small- to medium-sized businesses acquiring, and global e-commerce solutions. The Banking Solutions segment provides core processing and ancillary applications; digital solutions, including Internet, mobile, and e-banking; fraud, risk management, and compliance solutions; electronic funds transfer and network services; card and retail payment solutions; wealth and retirement solutions; and item processing and output services. The Capital Market Solutions segment offers securities processing and finance, global trading, asset management and insurance, and corporate liquidity solutions. Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
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