Contrasting PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

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

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mastercard and PAR Technology”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mastercard	$32.79 billion	14.30	$14.97 billion	$16.52	31.84
PAR Technology	$349.98 million	2.54	-$4.99 million	($2.14)	-10.21

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mastercard	45.65%	203.92%	29.74%
PAR Technology	-19.21%	-2.56%	-1.58%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.3% of Mastercard shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Mastercard shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of PAR Technology shares are held 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.

Volatility and Risk

Mastercard has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PAR Technology has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Mastercard and PAR Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mastercard	0	2	16	6	3.17
PAR Technology	1	2	6	0	2.56

Mastercard presently has a consensus price target of $669.27, suggesting a potential upside of 27.25%. PAR Technology has a consensus price target of $64.00, suggesting a potential upside of 192.77%. Given PAR Technology’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PAR Technology is more favorable than Mastercard.

Summary

Mastercard beats PAR Technology on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from a physical card and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions; and treasury intelligence platform that offers corporations with recommendations to enhance working capital performance and accelerate spend on cards. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Send, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and Mastercard Cross-Border Services enables a range of payment flows through a distribution network with a single point of access to send and receive money globally through various channels, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, cards, and cash payouts. Further, it provides cyber and intelligence solutions; insights and analytics, consulting, marketing, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants; and open banking and digital identity services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus name. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

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.