CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS – Get Rating) and Quad/Graphics (NYSE:QUAD – Get Rating) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares CPI Card Group and Quad/Graphics’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CPI Card Group | $375.12 million | 0.35 | $15.94 million | $1.36 | 8.46 |
| Quad/Graphics | $2.96 billion | 0.13 | $37.80 million | $0.71 | 9.55 |
Quad/Graphics has higher revenue and earnings than CPI Card Group. CPI Card Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Quad/Graphics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares CPI Card Group and Quad/Graphics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CPI Card Group | 4.25% | -12.54% | 6.28% |
| Quad/Graphics | 1.28% | 24.87% | 1.71% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
7.9% of CPI Card Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.5% of Quad/Graphics shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of CPI Card Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.1% of Quad/Graphics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility and Risk
CPI Card Group has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quad/Graphics has a beta of 1.7, meaning that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings for CPI Card Group and Quad/Graphics, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CPI Card Group | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Quad/Graphics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Summary
Quad/Graphics beats CPI Card Group on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
CPI Card Group Company Profile (Get Rating)
CPI Card Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, production, data personalization, packaging, and fulfillment of financial payment cards. It operates through Debit and Credit, and Prepaid Debit segments. The Debit and Credit segment produces financial payment cards and provides integrated card services to card-issuing banks. Its products include Europay, Mastercard, And Visa (EMV) and non-EMV financial payment cards and metal cards, as well as private label credit cards. This segment also provides on-demand services and various integrated card services, including card personalization and fulfillment, and instant issuance services. The Prepaid Debit segment primarily offers integrated card services comprising tamper-evident security packaging services to prepaid debit card providers. It also produces financial payment cards issued on the networks of the payment card brands. It serves issuers of debit and credit cards, Prepaid Debit Card program managers, community banks, credit unions, group service providers, and card transaction processors in the United States. The company was formerly known as CPI Holdings I, Inc. and changed its name to CPI Card Group Inc. in August 2015. CPI Card Group Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.
Quad/Graphics Company Profile (Get Rating)
Quad/Graphics, Inc. provides marketing solutions worldwide. The company operates through United States Print and Related Services, and International segments. It offers printing services, such as retail inserts, publications, catalogs, special interest publications, journals, direct mail, directories, in-store marketing and promotion, packaging, newspapers, custom print products, and other commercial and specialty printed products; and paper procurement services. The company also provides marketing and other services, including consumer insights, audience targeting, personalization, media planning and placement, process optimization, campaign planning and creation, pre-media production, videography, photography, digital and print execution, and logistics, as well as manufactures ink. It serves blue chip companies that operate in various industries, and serve businesses and consumers comprising retailers, publishers, and direct marketers. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin.
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