Reviewing BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) and Block (NYSE:XYZ)

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) and Block (NYSE:XYZ) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares BlackLine and Block’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BlackLine	3.71%	18.86%	3.88%
Block	3.30%	7.02%	3.99%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.1% of BlackLine shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.4% of Block shares are held by institutional investors. 9.1% of BlackLine shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.4% of Block shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

BlackLine has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Block has a beta of 2.56, indicating that its stock price is 156% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for BlackLine and Block, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BlackLine	2	7	5	0	2.21
Block	1	5	26	4	2.92

BlackLine currently has a consensus price target of $43.67, indicating a potential upside of 51.99%. Block has a consensus price target of $85.42, indicating a potential upside of 22.94%. Given BlackLine’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe BlackLine is more favorable than Block.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BlackLine and Block”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BlackLine	$700.43 million	2.41	$24.17 million	$0.43	66.81
Block	$24.19 billion	1.71	$1.31 billion	$1.28	54.29

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

Summary

Block beats BlackLine on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BlackLine

BlackLine, Inc. operates a cloud-based software platform which is designed to transform accounting and finance operations for organizations of all types and sizes. Its scalable platform supports critical accounting processes such as the financial close, account reconciliations, intercompany accounting, and controls assurance. The company was founded by Therese Tucker in May 2001 and is headquartered in Woodland Hills, CA.

About Block

Square, Inc. provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions. The company also provides Square Point of Sale software; Cash App, which provides access to the financial system, allowing customers to electronically send, store, and spend money; Caviar, a food ordering platform for restaurants to offer food ordering, pickup and delivery, to their customers; and Square Capital that facilitates loans to sellers based on real-time payment and point-of-sale data. Square, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.