Reviewing Better Home & Finance (NASDAQ:BETR) & Western Union (NYSE:WU)

Better Home & Finance (NASDAQ:BETR) and Western Union (NYSE:WU) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Better Home & Finance and Western Union, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Better Home & Finance	1	1	8	0	2.70
Western Union	7	7	0	0	1.50

Better Home & Finance currently has a consensus target price of $23.71, suggesting a potential upside of 53.99%. Western Union has a consensus target price of $6.95, suggesting a potential upside of 3.49%. Given Better Home & Finance’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Better Home & Finance is more favorable than Western Union.

Volatility & Risk

Better Home & Finance has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Union has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Better Home & Finance and Western Union’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Better Home & Finance	-92.56%	-475.83%	-10.09%
Western Union	8.32%	49.12%	5.56%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

20.9% of Better Home & Finance shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. 27.7% of Better Home & Finance shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Western Union shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Better Home & Finance and Western Union”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Better Home & Finance	$164.87 million	1.77	-$165.87 million	($11.02)	-1.40
Western Union	$4.05 billion	0.52	$499.60 million	$1.05	6.40

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

Summary

Western Union beats Better Home & Finance on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Better Home & Finance

Better Home & Finance Holding Company is a financial technology company that provides digital services for homeownership. Through its Better brand, the company offers an online platform designed to simplify the process of buying, financing and protecting a home. Its principal businesses include Better Mortgage, a digital mortgage lender and broker; Better Real Estate, which provides residential real estate brokerage services; Better Cover, an insurance platform; and Better Settlement Services, which supports title and closing activities.

About Western Union

Western Union is a global payments company that provides cross-border, cross-currency money transfers and other financial services. Customers can send and receive money through the company’s digital platforms and its network of agent locations, as well as use services such as bill payments where available. The company also offers payment and foreign-exchange solutions to businesses and organizations. Its services reach customers in more than 200 countries and territories, combining online and mobile options with in-person access through local agents.