Head-To-Head Contrast: Maximus (NYSE:MMS) versus PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Maximus and PayPal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Maximus	5.59%	20.91%	9.12%
PayPal	14.30%	22.82%	5.75%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Maximus and PayPal, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Maximus	0	1	0	0	2.00
PayPal	0	16	20	1	2.59

PayPal has a consensus target price of $76.38, suggesting a potential downside of 1.93%. Given PayPal’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe PayPal is more favorable than Maximus.

Volatility & Risk

Maximus has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PayPal has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Maximus	$5.25 billion	1.07	$161.79 million	$3.81	24.33
PayPal	$31.03 billion	2.63	$4.25 billion	$3.97	19.62

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.2% of Maximus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.3% of PayPal shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Maximus shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of PayPal shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

PayPal beats Maximus on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Maximus

Maximus, Inc. operates as a provider of government services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, U.S. Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers program eligibility support and enrollment; centralized multilingual customer contact centers, multichannel, and digital self-service options for enrollment; application assistance and independent health plan choice counseling; beneficiary outreach, education, eligibility, enrollment, and redeterminations; and person-centered independent disability, long-term sick, and other health assessments. This segment also provides employment services, such as eligibility support, case management, job-readiness preparation, job search and employer outreach, job retention and career advancement, and educational and training services; technology solutions; system implementation project management services; and specialized consulting services. The U.S. Federal Services segment offers Business process services, eligibility and enrollment, outreach, and other services for federal health and human services programs; clinical services; and technology solutions, including application development and modernization services, enterprise business solutions, advanced analytics and emerging technologies, cybersecurity services, and infrastructure and engineering solutions. The Outside the U.S. segment offers BPS solutions for international governments, including health and disability assessments, program administration for employment services, wellbeing solutions, and other job seeker-related services. Maximus, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards. The company provides payment solutions under the PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom, Zettle, Hyperwallet, Honey, and Paidy names. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.