Contrasting Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) and PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR)

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) and Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares PAR Technology and Fiserv”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PAR Technology	$349.98 million	4.13	-$4.99 million	($2.14)	-16.65
Fiserv	$20.46 billion	1.80	$3.13 billion	$6.47	10.46

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

Volatility and Risk

PAR Technology has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fiserv has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for PAR Technology and Fiserv, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PAR Technology	1	2	6	0	2.56
Fiserv	3	23	10	0	2.19

PAR Technology presently has a consensus target price of $64.00, suggesting a potential upside of 79.60%. Fiserv has a consensus target price of $121.08, suggesting a potential upside of 78.85%. Given PAR Technology’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PAR Technology is more favorable than Fiserv.

Profitability

This table compares PAR Technology and Fiserv’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PAR Technology	-19.21%	-2.56%	-1.58%
Fiserv	17.05%	19.47%	6.43%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.0% of Fiserv shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of PAR Technology shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Fiserv shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Fiserv beats PAR Technology on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PAR Technology

PAR Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides omnichannel cloud-based hardware and software solutions to the restaurant and retail industries worldwide. The Restaurant/Retail segment offers PUNCHH, an enterprise-grade customer loyalty and engagement solution; MENU, an eCommerce platform for restaurant brands; BRINK POS, an open cloud, point-of-sale solution; PAR PAYMENT SERVICES, a merchant services business that enables electronic payment and processing services for businesses; and DATA CENTRAL, a back-office solution that leverages business intelligence and automation technologies. This segment also offers Point-of-Sale Hardware; wireless headsets for drive-thru order-taking; and kitchen display systems, payment devices, cash drawers, printers, and other peripherals. In addition, this segment provides services, such as hardware repair, installation and implementation, training, and on-site and technical support services. The Government segment provides intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions; mission systems operations and maintenance, and commercial software products; systems engineering support and software-based solutions; satellite and teleport facility operation and maintenance, engineering, and installation services comprising inside and outside plant services, and maintenance of infrastructure and information systems; satellite ground system support comprising operations and maintenance, sustainment, upgrades, communications security management, anomaly response/resolution, process improvement, emergency response, and disaster recovery services; and information technology infrastructure library services to the United States Department of Defense, intelligence community (IC), and other federal agencies. This segment also offers various IC support services, systems integration, situational awareness solutions, and mission readiness support services. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in New Hartford, New York.

About Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides payments and financial services technology services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Merchant Acceptance, Financial Technology, and Payments and Network segments. The Merchant Acceptance segment provides merchant acquiring and digital commerce services; mobile payment services; security and fraud protection products; Clover, a cloud based POS and integrated commerce operating system for small and mid-sized businesses and independent software vendors; and Carat, an integrated operating system for large businesses. This segment distributes through various channels, including direct sales teams, strategic partnerships with agent sales forces, independent software vendors, financial institutions, and other strategic partners in the form of joint venture alliances, revenue sharing alliances, and referral agreement. The Financial Technology segment offers customer deposit and loan accounts, as well as manages an institution's general ledger and central information files. This segment also provides digital banking, financial and risk management, professional services and consulting, check processing, and other products and services. The Payments and Network segment offers card transactions, such as debit, credit, and prepaid card processing and services; funds access, debit payments, cardless ATM access, and surcharge-free ATM network; security and fraud protection products; card production; print services; and various network services, as well as non-card digital payment software and services, including bill payment, account-to-account transfers, person-to-person payments, electronic billing, and security and fraud protection products. It serves merchants, banks, credit unions, other financial institutions, and corporate clients. Fiserv, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.