PayPoint (PAY) Competitors

PayPoint (LON:PAY) and 4imprint Group (LON:FOUR) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, PAY or FOUR?

4imprint Group has higher revenue and earnings than PayPoint. 4imprint Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PayPoint, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PayPoint	£301.14M	1.92	£35.08M	£48.70	16.60
4imprint Group	£1.71B	0.79	£139.98M	£314.05	12.10

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in PAY or FOUR?

37.4% of PayPoint shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.3% of 4imprint Group shares are held by institutional investors. 31.4% of PayPoint shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of 4imprint Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor PAY or FOUR?

In the previous week, PayPoint had 1 more articles in the media than 4imprint Group. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for PayPoint and 2 mentions for 4imprint Group. PayPoint's average media sentiment score of 0.31 beat 4imprint Group's score of 0.00 indicating that PayPoint is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
PayPoint	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
4imprint Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer PAY or FOUR?

4imprint Group has a consensus target price of GBX 7,365, indicating a potential upside of 93.81%. Given 4imprint Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe 4imprint Group is more favorable than PayPoint.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PayPoint	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
4imprint Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is PAY or FOUR a better dividend stock?

PayPoint pays an annual dividend of GBX 19 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. 4imprint Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 180 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. PayPoint pays out 39.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 4imprint Group pays out 57.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Which has more volatility & risk, PAY or FOUR?

PayPoint has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 4imprint Group has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PAY or FOUR more profitable?

PayPoint has a net margin of 11.65% compared to 4imprint Group's net margin of 8.20%. 4imprint Group's return on equity of 78.95% beat PayPoint's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PayPoint	11.65%	30.78%	6.54%
4imprint Group	8.20%	78.95%	35.62%

Summary

4imprint Group beats PayPoint on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.