Analyzing Cielo (OTCMKTS:CIOXY) and CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ)

Cielo (OTCMKTS:CIOXY) and CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Cielo and CBIZ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cielo	17.54%	12.28%	1.80%
CBIZ	7.12%	14.58%	5.78%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cielo and CBIZ”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cielo	$2.12 billion	1.07	$418.05 million	$0.16	5.25
CBIZ	$1.65 billion	1.98	$120.97 million	$2.47	26.48

Cielo has higher revenue and earnings than CBIZ. Cielo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CBIZ, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Cielo has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CBIZ has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Cielo shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.4% of CBIZ shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of CBIZ shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Cielo and CBIZ, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cielo	0	0	0	0	N/A
CBIZ	0	0	1	0	3.00

CBIZ has a consensus target price of $86.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.50%. Given CBIZ’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CBIZ is more favorable than Cielo.

Summary

CBIZ beats Cielo on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cielo

Cielo S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides payment services in Brazil and the United States. The company provides services related to credit and debit cards, and other payment methods, including signing up of merchants and service providers; rental, installation, and maintenance of point-of-sale terminals; and data capture and processing of electronic and manual transactions, as well as the issuance and management of payment accounts. It also offers services related to the processing means of payments that involve cards, maintenance services, and contacts with merchants for acceptance of credit and debit cards; development and licensing of computer software; electronic transactions processing; and technology services for collection and management of accounts payable and receivable using the Internet. The company was formerly known as Companhia Brasileira de Meios de Pagamento and changed its name to Cielo S.A. in December 2009. Cielo S.A. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Barueri, Brazil.

About CBIZ

CBIZ, Inc. provides financial, insurance, and advisory services in the United States and Canada. It operates through Financial Services, Benefits and Insurance Services, and National Practices segments. The Financial Services segment offers accounting and tax, financial advisory, valuation, risk and advisory, and government healthcare consulting services. The Benefits and Insurance Services provides employee benefits consulting, payroll/human capital management, property and casualty insurance, and retirement and investment services. The National Practices segment offers information technology managed networking and hardware, and health care consulting services. The company primarily serves small and medium-sized businesses, as well as individuals, governmental entities, and not-for-profit enterprises. CBIZ, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Independence, Ohio.