Comparing Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) & FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS)

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

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares FirstCash and Paymentus”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FirstCash	$3.39 billion	2.07	$258.82 million	$6.51	24.33
Paymentus	$871.74 million	4.23	$44.17 million	$0.43	68.44

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

Volatility & Risk

FirstCash has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paymentus has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.3% of FirstCash shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Paymentus shares are held by institutional investors. 14.8% of FirstCash shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 87.8% of Paymentus shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FirstCash	8.61%	16.63%	7.70%
Paymentus	5.37%	12.63%	10.69%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for FirstCash and Paymentus, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FirstCash	0	1	5	2	3.13
Paymentus	0	5	4	0	2.44

FirstCash currently has a consensus target price of $154.40, indicating a potential downside of 2.53%. Paymentus has a consensus target price of $37.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.72%. Given Paymentus’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Paymentus is more favorable than FirstCash.

Summary

FirstCash beats Paymentus on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FirstCash

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers. The company also provides retail POS payment solutions, which focuses on LTO products and facilitating other retail financing payment options across the network of traditional and e-commerce merchant partners. It serves cash and credit-constrained consumers. The company was formerly known as FirstCash, Inc and changed its name to FirstCash Holdings, Inc. in December 2021. FirstCash Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

About Paymentus

Paymentus Holdings, Inc. provides cloud-based bill payment technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers electronic bill presentment and payment services, enterprise customer communication, and self-service revenue management to billers through a software-as-a-service technology platform. Its platform's payment processing includes credit cards, debit cards, eChecks, and digital wallets. It serves utility, financial service, government, insurance, telecommunication, real estate management, education, consumer finance, healthcare, and small business industries. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.