Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS) & Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Financial Analysis

Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS) and Equitable (NYSE:EQH) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Paysign and Equitable”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Paysign	$82.03 million	10.27	$7.55 million	$0.26	57.38
Equitable	$11.66 billion	1.23	-$1.38 billion	($3.31)	-15.94

Paysign has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Equitable. Equitable is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Paysign, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

25.9% of Paysign shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Equitable shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.5% of Paysign shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Equitable shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Paysign and Equitable’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Paysign	15.67%	30.13%	5.66%
Equitable	-8.72%	511.35%	0.61%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Paysign and Equitable, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Paysign	0	0	3	0	3.00
Equitable	0	3	10	1	2.86

Paysign presently has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.54%. Equitable has a consensus price target of $63.18, indicating a potential upside of 19.76%. Given Equitable’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Equitable is more favorable than Paysign.

Volatility & Risk

Paysign has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equitable has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Paysign beats Equitable on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Paysign

Paysign, Inc. provides prepaid card programs, comprehensive patient affordability offerings, digital banking services, and integrated payment processing services for businesses, consumers, and government institutions. Its product offerings include solutions for corporate rewards, prepaid gift cards, general purpose reloadable debit cards, employee incentives, consumer rebates, donor compensation, clinical trials, healthcare reimbursement payments and pharmaceutical payment assistance, and demand deposit accounts accessible with a debit card. The company markets its prepaid card solutions under the Paysign brand. Its primary market focus is on companies and municipalities that require a streamlined payment solution for rewards, rebates, payment assistance, and other payments to their customers, employees, agents, and others. The company was formerly known as 3PEA International, Inc. and changed its name to Paysign, Inc. in April 2019. Paysign, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada.

About Equitable

Equitable Holdings, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy. The Individual Retirement segment offers a suite of variable annuity products primarily to affluent and high net worth individuals. The Group Retirement segment provides tax-deferred investment and retirement services or products to plans sponsored by educational entities, municipalities, and not-for-profit entities, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. The Investment Management and Research segment offers diversified investment management, research, and related services to various clients through institutional. The Protection Solutions segment provides life insurance products, such as VUL insurance and IUL insurance, term life, and employee benefits business, such as dental, vision, life, as well as short- and long-term disability insurance products to small and medium-sized businesses. The Wealth Management segment offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts, financial planning and advice, life insurance, and annuity products. The Legacy segment consists of the capital intensive fixed-rate GMxB business that includes ROP death benefits. The company was formerly known as AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Equitable Holdings, Inc. in January 2020. Equitable Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is based in New York, New York.