Head to Head Analysis: Cantaloupe (NASDAQ:CTLP) & Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Cantaloupe (NASDAQ:CTLP) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Cantaloupe and Mastercard’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cantaloupe	17.32%	8.76%	5.73%
Mastercard	45.65%	203.92%	29.74%

Risk & Volatility

Cantaloupe has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mastercard has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cantaloupe and Mastercard”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cantaloupe	$302.55 million	2.58	$64.53 million	$0.18	58.89
Mastercard	$32.79 billion	13.16	$14.97 billion	$16.52	29.29

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Cantaloupe and Mastercard, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cantaloupe	1	6	1	0	2.00
Mastercard	1	1	19	6	3.11

Cantaloupe presently has a consensus target price of $12.60, suggesting a potential upside of 18.87%. Mastercard has a consensus target price of $667.88, suggesting a potential upside of 38.01%. Given Mastercard’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Mastercard is more favorable than Cantaloupe.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.8% of Cantaloupe shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Mastercard shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of Cantaloupe shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Mastercard 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.

Summary

Mastercard beats Cantaloupe on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe, Inc., a digital payments and software services company, provides technology solutions for self-service commerce market. The company offers integrated solutions for payments processing, logistics, and back-office management. It also provides G11 cashless and pulse kits that are 4G LTE digital payment devices for payment and consumer engagement applications; G11 chip kit, a digital reader that accepts contact EMV and contactless EMV payment methods; Engage series comprising Engage and Engage Combo, which are digital touchscreen devices that offers networking, security, and interactivity payment methods; and card touchscreen card readers, including P66, P100, P100Pro, and P30. In addition, the company offers self-checkout kiosks,?smart store?concepts, and the Cantaloupe Go management platform comprising Go Mini, Go MiniX, Go Plus100, Go Plus200, Go Plus300, Go Max, Cooler Cafe, and Smart Market; Go Portal, a robust cloud-based platform; and Cheq products, which supports attended and unattended self-service kiosks for the stadium, entertainment, and festival sectors. Further, it provides integrated software services for payment or asset tracking devices in the field to connect into platform for advanced data management, analytics, route scheduling, and loyalty and reward programs; and a range of self-service hardware solutions for vending, micro-markets, amusement, arcade, commercial laundry, air/vacuum, car wash, and other applications. Additionally, the company offers professional, network infrastructure, card processing, and customer/consumer services. Cantaloupe, Inc. was formerly known as USA Technologies, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from a physical card and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions; and treasury intelligence platform that offers corporations with recommendations to enhance working capital performance and accelerate spend on cards. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Send, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and Mastercard Cross-Border Services enables a range of payment flows through a distribution network with a single point of access to send and receive money globally through various channels, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, cards, and cash payouts. Further, it provides cyber and intelligence solutions; insights and analytics, consulting, marketing, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants; and open banking and digital identity services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus name. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.