Comparing Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) and Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) and Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Paylocity and Match Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Paylocity	1	3	14	1	2.79
Match Group	0	9	6	0	2.40

Paylocity presently has a consensus target price of $160.28, suggesting a potential upside of 46.19%. Match Group has a consensus target price of $41.07, suggesting a potential upside of 14.25%. Given Paylocity’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Paylocity is more favorable than Match Group.

Profitability

This table compares Paylocity and Match Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Paylocity	14.94%	25.63%	5.62%
Match Group	18.83%	-307.45%	16.48%

Volatility and Risk

Paylocity has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Match Group has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Paylocity and Match Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Paylocity	$1.60 billion	3.68	$227.13 million	$4.69	23.38
Match Group	$3.52 billion	2.38	$613.45 million	$2.62	13.72

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.8% of Paylocity shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.1% of Match Group shares are held by institutional investors. 19.4% of Paylocity shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Match Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Paylocity beats Match Group on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Paylocity

Paylocity Holding Corporation engages in the provision of cloud-based human capital management and payroll software solutions for workforce in the United States. The company offers payroll software solution for global payroll, expense management, tax services, on demand payment, and garnishment managed services; and time and labor management software for time and attendance, scheduling, and time collection. It also provides human resources (HR) software solutions for employee self-service, compliance, HR edge, data analytics, and workflows and documents, as well as human resource management system; talent management system for recruiting, onboarding, performance, compensation, and learning; and benefits administration software. In addition, the company offers employee experience platform for community, employee voice, recognition and rewards, video, and modern workforce index; HR reporting software; and mobile HR solutions. Further, it provides implementation and training, client, and tax and regulatory services. The company serves for-profit and non-profit organizations across industries, including business services, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, technology, and others. It sells its products through sales representatives. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois.

About Match Group

Match Group, Inc. engages in the provision of dating products. Its portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, BLK, and Hakuna, as well as a various other brands, each built to increase users' likelihood of connecting with others. Its services are available in over 40 languages to users worldwide. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Dallas, Texas.