Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) versus PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) Critical Survey

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) and PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Shift4 Payments and PAR Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shift4 Payments	2.84%	39.27%	5.60%
PAR Technology	-18.54%	-2.32%	-1.42%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Shift4 Payments and PAR Technology”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shift4 Payments	$4.18 billion	0.88	$119.00 million	$1.05	43.30
PAR Technology	$455.55 million	1.24	-$84.46 million	($2.08)	-6.60

Shift4 Payments has higher revenue and earnings than PAR Technology. PAR Technology is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shift4 Payments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PAR Technology has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of PAR Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Shift4 Payments and PAR Technology, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shift4 Payments	1	10	12	0	2.48
PAR Technology	1	1	5	0	2.57

Shift4 Payments currently has a consensus price target of $72.76, suggesting a potential upside of 60.04%. PAR Technology has a consensus price target of $33.20, suggesting a potential upside of 141.68%. Given PAR Technology’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PAR Technology is more favorable than Shift4 Payments.

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats PAR Technology on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions. The company also offers suite of technology solutions, such as Lighthouse, a cloud-based business intelligence tool that includes customer engagement, social media management, online reputation management, scheduling, and product pricing, as well as reporting and analytics; integrated POS for merchants business; and Skytab, a mobile payment solution. In addition, it provides marketplace technology that enable seamless integrations into third-party applications, which includes online delivery services, payroll, timekeeping, and other human resource services. Further, the company offers merchant management, training and education, marketing management, and incentives tracking solutions. Additionally, it provides merchant underwriting, onboarding and activation, training, risk management, and support services; and software integrations and compliance management, and partner support and services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About PAR Technology

PAR Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides omnichannel cloud-based hardware and software solutions to the restaurant and retail industries worldwide. The Restaurant/Retail segment offers PUNCHH, an enterprise-grade customer loyalty and engagement solution; MENU, an eCommerce platform for restaurant brands; BRINK POS, an open cloud, point-of-sale solution; PAR PAYMENT SERVICES, a merchant services business that enables electronic payment and processing services for businesses; and DATA CENTRAL, a back-office solution that leverages business intelligence and automation technologies. This segment also offers Point-of-Sale Hardware; wireless headsets for drive-thru order-taking; and kitchen display systems, payment devices, cash drawers, printers, and other peripherals. In addition, this segment provides services, such as hardware repair, installation and implementation, training, and on-site and technical support services. The Government segment provides intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions; mission systems operations and maintenance, and commercial software products; systems engineering support and software-based solutions; satellite and teleport facility operation and maintenance, engineering, and installation services comprising inside and outside plant services, and maintenance of infrastructure and information systems; satellite ground system support comprising operations and maintenance, sustainment, upgrades, communications security management, anomaly response/resolution, process improvement, emergency response, and disaster recovery services; and information technology infrastructure library services to the United States Department of Defense, intelligence community (IC), and other federal agencies. This segment also offers various IC support services, systems integration, situational awareness solutions, and mission readiness support services. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in New Hartford, New York.