Head-To-Head Analysis: Western Union (NYSE:WU) and Amentum (NYSE:AMTM)

Western Union (NYSE:WU) and Amentum (NYSE:AMTM) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.9% of Amentum shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Western Union shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of Amentum shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Western Union and Amentum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Union	22.19%	96.90%	7.43%
Amentum	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Western Union and Amentum, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Union	4	6	0	0	1.60
Amentum	1	3	4	0	2.38

Western Union presently has a consensus target price of $10.78, indicating a potential upside of 8.59%. Amentum has a consensus target price of $25.38, indicating a potential upside of 16.10%. Given Amentum’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Amentum is more favorable than Western Union.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Western Union and Amentum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Union	$4.14 billion	0.79	$934.20 million	$2.68	3.70
Amentum	$11.26 billion	0.47	-$82.00 million	N/A	N/A

Western Union has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Amentum.

Summary

Western Union beats Amentum on 6 of the 11 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 Amentum

Amentum Holdings, Inc. provides engineering and technology solutions to address challenges in science, security, and sustainability. It serves various markets, such as energy and environment, space, intelligence, defense, civilian, commercial, and international markets. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquatered in Chantilly, Virginia.