Contrasting Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) and Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY)

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) and Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Bentley Systems has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Flywire has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bentley Systems and Flywire”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bentley Systems	$1.46 billion	7.77	$234.70 million	$0.84	46.24
Flywire	$492.14 million	3.41	$2.90 million	($0.02)	-686.50

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

Profitability

This table compares Bentley Systems and Flywire’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bentley Systems	18.45%	28.16%	9.25%
Flywire	-0.42%	0.80%	0.56%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Bentley Systems and Flywire, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bentley Systems	1	4	8	0	2.54
Flywire	2	8	6	0	2.25

Bentley Systems presently has a consensus target price of $53.00, suggesting a potential upside of 36.46%. Flywire has a consensus target price of $15.73, suggesting a potential upside of 14.57%. Given Bentley Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Bentley Systems is more favorable than Flywire.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

44.2% of Bentley Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of Flywire shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.6% of Bentley Systems shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Flywire shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Bentley Systems beats Flywire on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides infrastructure engineering software solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers open modeling engineering applications, such as MicroStation, OpenBridge, OpenBuildings, OpenCities, OpenComms, OpenFlows, OpenPlant, OpenRail, OpenRoads, OpenSite, OpenTower, OpenTunnel, OpenUtilities, and OpenWindowPower; and open simulation engineering applications, including ADINA, AutoPIPE, CUBE, DYNAMEQ, EMME, LEGION, Power Line Systems, RAM, SACS, SPIDA, and STAAD; and geoprofessional applications for modeling and simulation of near and deep subsurface conditions, including AGS, Central, GeoStudio, Imago, Leapfrog, MX Deposit, Oasis montaj, OpenGround, and PLAXIS. It also provides infrastructure cloud applications, such as ProjectWise, SYNCHRO, and AssetWise, as well as iTwin platform that enables users to create and curate cloud native 4D/5D digital representations of physical infrastructure assets consisting of iTwin Capture, iTwin Experience, and iTwin IoT platforms. The company serves civil, structural, geotechnical, subsurface, process engineers, architects, geospatial professionals, city and regional planners, contractors, fabricators, and operations and maintenance engineers. Bentley Systems, Incorporated was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

About Flywire

Flywire Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a payments enablement and software company in the United States and internationally. Its payment platform and network, and vertical-specific software help clients to get paid and help their customers to pay. The company’s platform facilitates payment flows across multiple currencies, payment types, and payment options, as well as provides direct connections to alternative payment methods, such as Alipay, Boleto, PayPal/Venmo, and Trustly. It serves education, healthcare, travel, and business to business organizations. The company was formerly known as peerTransfer Corporation and changed its name to Flywire Corporation in December 2016. Flywire Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.