Financial Comparison: CompoSecure (NASDAQ:CMPO) vs. Western Union (NYSE:WU)

Western Union (NYSE:WU) and CompoSecure (NASDAQ:CMPO) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Western Union and CompoSecure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Union	18.80%	60.85%	6.97%
CompoSecure	-24.53%	-65.50%	26.83%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Western Union and CompoSecure”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Union	$4.10 billion	0.67	$934.20 million	$2.29	3.76
CompoSecure	$267.82 million	9.14	-$53.72 million	($2.16)	-9.05

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

Volatility and Risk

Western Union has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CompoSecure has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.6% of CompoSecure shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Western Union shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 52.1% of CompoSecure shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Western Union and CompoSecure, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Union	4	10	0	0	1.71
CompoSecure	0	1	6	0	2.86

Western Union presently has a consensus target price of $8.70, suggesting a potential upside of 0.97%. CompoSecure has a consensus target price of $25.17, suggesting a potential upside of 28.70%. Given CompoSecure’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CompoSecure is more favorable than Western Union.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices. The Consumer Services segments offers bill payment services, which facilitate payments for consumers, businesses, and other organizations, as well as money order services, retail foreign exchange services, prepaid cards, lending partnerships, and digital wallets. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About CompoSecure

CompoSecure, Inc. manufactures and designs metal, composite, and proprietary financial transaction cards in the United States and internationally. Its primary metal form factors include embedded, metal veneer lite, metal veneer, and full metal products. The company also offers Arculus Cold Storage Wallet, a three-factor authentication solution, which supports specific digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, non-fungible tokens and others. In addition, it offers Payments + Arculus Secure Authenticate, white-labeled cold storage wallet, Payments + Arculus Cold Storage, and Payments + Arculus Authentication + Arculus Cold Storage. The company serves financial institutions, plastic card manufacturers, system integrators, and security specialists. CompoSecure, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Somerset, New Jersey.