Head to Head Review: Freedom (NASDAQ:FRHC) and Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS)

Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) and Freedom (NASDAQ:FRHC) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fidelity National Information Services and Freedom”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fidelity National Information Services	$10.68 billion	1.64	$382.00 million	$6.51	5.20
Freedom	$2.19 billion	5.05	$153.33 million	$2.53	68.52

Fidelity National Information Services has higher revenue and earnings than Freedom. Fidelity National Information Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Freedom, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Fidelity National Information Services has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freedom has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Fidelity National Information Services and Freedom’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fidelity National Information Services	27.64%	20.95%	8.13%
Freedom	6.47%	10.96%	1.24%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Fidelity National Information Services and Freedom, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fidelity National Information Services	2	13	10	0	2.32
Freedom	0	2	1	0	2.33

Fidelity National Information Services currently has a consensus price target of $52.72, suggesting a potential upside of 55.59%. Freedom has a consensus price target of $159.00, suggesting a potential downside of 8.28%. Given Fidelity National Information Services’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Fidelity National Information Services is more favorable than Freedom.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.2% of Fidelity National Information Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.3% of Freedom shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Fidelity National Information Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 69.8% of Freedom shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Fidelity National Information Services beats Freedom on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fidelity National Information Services

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. engages in the provision of financial services technology solutions for financial institutions, businesses, and developers worldwide. It operates through Banking Solutions, Capital Market Solutions, and Corporate and Other segments. The company provides core processing and ancillary applications; mobile and online banking; fraud, risk management, and compliance; card and retail payment; electronic funds transfer and network; wealth and retirement; and item processing and output solutions. It also offers trading and asset, lending, leveraged and syndicated loan markets, and treasury and risk solutions. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

About Freedom

Freedom Holding Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides securities brokerage, securities dealing, market making, investment research, investment counseling, and investment banking services. It offers retail brokerage services for exchange-traded and over-the-counter corporate equity and debt securities, money market instruments, exchange traded options and futures contracts, government bonds, and mutual funds; securities trading; underwriting services; margin lending services collateralized by securities and cash in the customer’s account; various investment education and training courses; investment research services; and commercial banking services, including payment cards, digital mortgages, and digital business and digital auto loans, as well as Freedom Box, a package of payment acquiring services. The company also provides capital raising solutions for corporate clients through initial public offerings and follow-on offerings; and debt capital markets solutions that focuses on structuring and distributing private and public debt for various purposes, including buyouts, acquisitions, growth capital financings, and recapitalizations, as well as information processing services. In addition, it facilitates repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements in proprietary trading activities; and covers short positions and settle other securities obligations to accommodate customers’ needs and finance its inventory positions. Further, the company offers proprietary trading and investment services, as well as insurance products; and Tradernet software platform for client margin risk evaluation and middle office security transfer requests. It operates in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, rest of Europe, the United States, Russia, the Middle East, and Caucasus. The company was formerly known as BMB Munai, Inc. and changed its name to Freedom Holding Corp. Freedom Holding Corp. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan.