Head to Head Survey: First Advantage (NYSE:FA) and Fiserv (NYSE:FI)

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) and Fiserv (NYSE:FI) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

First Advantage has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fiserv has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Advantage and Fiserv”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Advantage	$860.21 million	2.62	$37.29 million	($0.69)	-18.84
Fiserv	$383.42 million	313.14	$3.13 billion	$5.39	39.69

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

Profitability

This table compares First Advantage and Fiserv’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Advantage	0.65%	13.16%	7.33%
Fiserv	15.31%	17.93%	5.97%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for First Advantage and Fiserv, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Advantage	0	3	7	0	2.70
Fiserv	0	2	21	2	3.00

First Advantage presently has a consensus price target of $53.29, suggesting a potential upside of 309.89%. Fiserv has a consensus price target of $239.83, suggesting a potential upside of 12.12%. Given First Advantage’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe First Advantage is more favorable than Fiserv.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.9% of First Advantage shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of Fiserv shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of First Advantage shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Fiserv shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Fiserv beats First Advantage on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products. The company also provides post-onboarding solutions, including criminal records monitoring, healthcare sanctions, motor vehicle records, social media screening, and global sanctions and licenses; and other products comprising fleet/vehicle compliance, hiring tax credits and incentives, resident/tenant screening, and investigative research. Its products and solutions are used by personnel in recruiting, human resources, risk, compliance, vendor management, safety, and/or security in global enterprises, mid-sized, and small companies. The company was formerly known as Fastball Intermediate, Inc. and changed its name to First Advantage Corporation in March 2021. First Advantage Corporation was founded in 2002 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides payments and financial services technology services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Merchant Acceptance, Financial Technology, and Payments and Network segments. The Merchant Acceptance segment provides merchant acquiring and digital commerce services; mobile payment services; security and fraud protection products; Clover, a cloud based POS and integrated commerce operating system for small and mid-sized businesses and independent software vendors; and Carat, an integrated operating system for large businesses. This segment distributes through various channels, including direct sales teams, strategic partnerships with agent sales forces, independent software vendors, financial institutions, and other strategic partners in the form of joint venture alliances, revenue sharing alliances, and referral agreement. The Financial Technology segment offers customer deposit and loan accounts, as well as manages an institution's general ledger and central information files. This segment also provides digital banking, financial and risk management, professional services and consulting, check processing, and other products and services. The Payments and Network segment offers card transactions, such as debit, credit, and prepaid card processing and services; funds access, debit payments, cardless ATM access, and surcharge-free ATM network; security and fraud protection products; card production; print services; and various network services, as well as non-card digital payment software and services, including bill payment, account-to-account transfers, person-to-person payments, electronic billing, and security and fraud protection products. It serves merchants, banks, credit unions, other financial institutions, and corporate clients. Fiserv, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.