Comparing Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) & Paymentus (NYSE:PAY)

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) and Zillow Group (NASDAQ:ZG) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Paymentus and Zillow Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Paymentus	5.19%	10.84%	9.24%
Zillow Group	-5.01%	-2.12%	-1.56%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Paymentus and Zillow Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Paymentus	0	5	2	1	2.50
Zillow Group	1	9	12	0	2.50

Paymentus currently has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential downside of 13.22%. Zillow Group has a consensus price target of $80.60, suggesting a potential upside of 19.18%. Given Zillow Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zillow Group is more favorable than Paymentus.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Paymentus and Zillow Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Paymentus	$871.75 million	4.96	$22.32 million	$0.34	101.68
Zillow Group	$2.24 billion	7.34	-$112.00 million	($0.47)	-143.89

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Paymentus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.3% of Zillow Group shares are held by institutional investors. 87.8% of Paymentus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.1% of Zillow Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Paymentus has a beta of 1.61, meaning that its stock price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zillow Group has a beta of 2.22, meaning that its stock price is 122% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Paymentus beats Zillow Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Paymentus

Paymentus Holdings, Inc. provides cloud-based bill payment technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers electronic bill presentment and payment services, enterprise customer communication, and self-service revenue management to billers through a software-as-a-service technology platform. Its platform's payment processing includes credit cards, debit cards, eChecks, and digital wallets. It serves utility, financial service, government, insurance, telecommunication, real estate management, education, consumer finance, healthcare, and small business industries. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc. operates real estate brands in mobile applications and Websites in the United States. The company offers premier agent and rentals marketplaces, new construction marketplaces, advertising, display advertising, and business technology solutions, as well as dotloop and floor plans. It also provides mortgage originations and the sale of mortgages, and advertising to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals; and title and escrow services. In addition, the company's brand portfolio includes Zillow Premier Agent, Zillow Home Loans, Zillow Rentals, Trulia, StreetEasy, HotPads, and Out East; and a suite of marketing software and technology solutions for the real estate industry, including ShowingTime+, Spruce, and Follow Up Boss. Zillow Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.