Head-To-Head Comparison: MultiPlan (NYSE:MPLN) vs. Western Union (NYSE:WU)

Western Union (NYSE:WU) and MultiPlan (NYSE:MPLN) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Western Union and MultiPlan’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Union	$4.36 billion	0.95	$626.00 million	$1.69	7.21
MultiPlan	$959.44 million	0.27	-$91.70 million	($0.98)	-0.41

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Western Union and MultiPlan, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Union	3	8	0	0	1.73
MultiPlan	0	0	0	0	N/A

Western Union currently has a consensus target price of $13.61, indicating a potential upside of 11.66%. MultiPlan has a consensus target price of $2.00, indicating a potential upside of 401.63%. Given MultiPlan’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe MultiPlan is more favorable than Western Union.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Union	14.12%	120.76%	7.83%
MultiPlan	-65.83%	-8.11%	-1.89%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.2% of MultiPlan shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Western Union shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of MultiPlan shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Western Union has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MultiPlan has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Western Union beats MultiPlan on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 MultiPlan

MultiPlan Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides data analytics and technology-enabled cost management, payment, and revenue integrity solutions to the healthcare industry in the United States. The company offers analytics-based services that reduce medical costs, through data-driven algorithms and insights that detect claims over-charges and negotiate or recommend reimbursement; and network-based services that provide contracted discounts with healthcare providers, as well as outsourced network development and management services. It provides payment and revenue integrity services, such as identifying and removing improper and unnecessary charges paid during the claim, as well as services to identify and help restore and preserve underpaid premium dollars. In addition, the company offers data and decision science services including a suite of solutions that apply modern methods of data science to produce descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics that drive optimized benefit plan design, support decision-making, improve clinical outcomes, and reduce the total cost of care; and business-to-business healthcare payments and other services. It serves national and regional insurance companies, Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, provider-sponsored and independent health plans, TPAs, self-insured health plans, property and casualty insurers, bill review companies, and other companies involved in the claim adjudication process. MultiPlan Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in New York, New York.