Western Union (WU) Competitors

Western Union (NYSE:WU) and Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Is WU or JKHY more profitable?

Western Union has a net margin of 22.19% compared to Jack Henry & Associates' net margin of 17.83%. Western Union's return on equity of 96.90% beat Jack Henry & Associates' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Union	22.19%	96.90%	7.43%
Jack Henry & Associates	17.83%	21.55%	14.05%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in WU or JKHY?

91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Jack Henry & Associates shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Western Union shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Jack Henry & Associates shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor WU or JKHY?

Western Union received 297 more outperform votes than Jack Henry & Associates when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 53.06% of users gave Western Union an outperform vote while only 52.81% of users gave Jack Henry & Associates an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Western Union	Outperform Votes 598 53.06%	Underperform Votes 529 46.94%
Jack Henry & Associates	Outperform Votes 301 52.81%	Underperform Votes 269 47.19%

Is WU or JKHY a better dividend stock?

Western Union pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.5%. Jack Henry & Associates pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Western Union pays out 34.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Jack Henry & Associates pays out 41.9% 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. Western Union is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, WU or JKHY?

Western Union has higher revenue and earnings than Jack Henry & Associates. Western Union 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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Union	$4.21B	0.78	$934.20M	$2.73	3.61
Jack Henry & Associates	$2.27B	5.58	$381.82M	$5.54	31.40

Which has more volatility and risk, WU or JKHY?

Western Union has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jack Henry & Associates has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer WU or JKHY?

In the previous week, Jack Henry & Associates had 5 more articles in the media than Western Union. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Jack Henry & Associates and 11 mentions for Western Union. Jack Henry & Associates' average media sentiment score of 1.42 beat Western Union's score of 1.39 indicating that Jack Henry & Associates is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Western Union	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Jack Henry & Associates	12 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend WU or JKHY?

Western Union presently has a consensus price target of $12.11, indicating a potential upside of 22.89%. Jack Henry & Associates has a consensus price target of $186.45, indicating a potential upside of 7.19%. Given Western Union's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Western Union is more favorable than Jack Henry & Associates.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Union	3 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.70
Jack Henry & Associates	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.15

Summary

Jack Henry & Associates beats Western Union on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.