Contrasting goeasy (OTCMKTS:EHMEF) & Western Union (NYSE:WU)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.8% of Western Union shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.7% of goeasy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Western Union shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Western Union and goeasy, as reported by MarketBeat.

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

Western Union currently has a consensus target price of $13.61, suggesting a potential upside of 1.80%. goeasy has a consensus target price of $167.33, suggesting a potential upside of 23.96%. Given goeasy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe goeasy is more favorable than Western Union.

Dividends

Western Union pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. goeasy pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Western Union pays out 55.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. goeasy pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Western Union and goeasy’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	1.04	$626.00 million	$1.69	7.91
goeasy	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.24	108.43

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

Profitability

This table compares Western Union and goeasy’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%
goeasy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Western Union beats goeasy on 8 of the 11 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 goeasy

goeasy Ltd. provides non-prime leasing and lending services under the easyhome, easyfinancial, and LendCare brands to consumers in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Easyfinancial and Easyhome. It offers unsecured and secured installment loans; home equity secured instalment loans and automotive vehicle financing; and loans to finance the purchase of retail goods, powersports and recreational vehicles, home improvement projects, and healthcare related products and services. The companyleases household furniture, appliances, electronics, and unsecured lending products to retail consumers. The company was formerly known as easyhome Ltd. and changed its name to goeasy Ltd. in September 2015. goeasy Ltd. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.