UniFirst (UNF) & Mobetize (MPAY) Critical Comparison

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) and Mobetize (OTCMKTS:MPAY) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Dividends

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UniFirst pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Mobetize does not pay a dividend. UniFirst pays out 6.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.3% of UniFirst shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of UniFirst shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 60.2% of Mobetize shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares UniFirst and Mobetize’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UniFirst	$1.70 billion	1.58	$163.89 million	$7.45	18.77
Mobetize	$440,000.00	0.36	-$1.44 million	N/A	N/A

UniFirst has higher revenue and earnings than Mobetize.

Volatility and Risk

UniFirst has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mobetize has a beta of 3.97, meaning that its stock price is 297% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares UniFirst and Mobetize’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UniFirst	9.44%	8.69%	7.00%
Mobetize	-260.29%	N/A	-558.95%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for UniFirst and Mobetize, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UniFirst	0	1	1	0	2.50
Mobetize	0	0	0	0	N/A

UniFirst currently has a consensus target price of $152.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.68%. Given UniFirst’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe UniFirst is more favorable than Mobetize.

Summary

UniFirst beats Mobetize on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About UniFirst

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. Rental and Cleaning, Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments. The company also rents and sells industrial wiping products, floor mats, facility service products, and dry and wet mops; restroom and cleaning supplies comprising air fresheners, paper products, and hand soaps; and other textile products. In addition, it provides first aid cabinet services and other safety supplies; decontaminates and cleans work clothes, and other items that might expose to radioactive materials; and services special cleanroom protective wear and facilities. Further, it offers a range of garment service options, including full-service rental programs in which garments are cleaned and serviced; lease programs in which garments are cleaned and maintained by individual employees; and purchase programs to buy garments and related items directly. The company serves automobile service centers and dealers, delivery services, food and general merchandise retailers, food processors and service operations, light manufacturers, maintenance facilities, restaurants, service companies, soft and durable goods wholesalers, transportation companies, government agencies, research and development laboratories, high technology companies, and utilities operating nuclear reactors, as well as others who require employee clothing for image, identification, protection, or utility purposes. UniFirst Corporation was founded in 1936 and is based in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

About Mobetize

Mobetize Corp. provides financial technology solutions and services to telecom and financial service providers in the United States and Canada. The company offers smartWallet, a solution that allows users to load funds in to their mobile wallet and access global mobile financial services; smartRemit, a mobile platform for money transfer solutions; smartCharge, which enables real time prepaid mobile top-ups to mobile phone and recharge transfers; and smartBill, a payments solution for bill payments to vendors. It also provides smartCard that enables users to move cleared funds from their smartWallet on to the MasterCard; and smartLoan digitized lending product that allows borrowers to apply for secured and unsecured loans to refinance credit card debt, student loans, weddings, or household projects. In addition, the company offers an online access to its customer relationship management and data analytics reporting systems for various transactions. Mobetize Corp. was founded in 2012 and is based in Blaine, Washington.