Brambles (OTCMKTS:BMBLF) & Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) Critical Review

Brambles (OTCMKTS:BMBLF) and Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Brambles and Cass Information Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brambles	0	0	0	0	N/A
Cass Information Systems	0	0	1	0	3.00

Cass Information Systems has a consensus price target of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.83%. Given Cass Information Systems’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cass Information Systems is more favorable than Brambles.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

31.2% of Brambles shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of Cass Information Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Cass Information Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Brambles pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cass Information Systems pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Brambles pays out 15.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cass Information Systems pays out 72.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cass Information Systems has raised its dividend for 23 consecutive years. Cass Information Systems is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Brambles and Cass Information Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brambles	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cass Information Systems	11.52%	10.00%	0.98%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brambles and Cass Information Systems”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brambles	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.86	15.19
Cass Information Systems	$197.51 million	2.93	$30.06 million	$1.66	25.61

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

Summary

Cass Information Systems beats Brambles on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brambles

Brambles Limited operates as a supply-chain logistics company. It operates through CHEP North America and Latin America; CHEP Europe, Middle East, Africa and India; and CHEP Australia, New Zealand and Asia, excluding India segments. The company engages in the pooling of unit-load equipment and associated services, focusing on the outsourced management of pallets, crates, and containers. It serves customers in the fast-moving consumer goods, fresh produce, beverage, retail, and general manufacturing industries. Brambles Limited was founded in 1875 and is based in Sydney, Australia.

About Cass Information Systems

Cass Information Systems, Inc. provides payment and information processing services to manufacturing, distribution, and retail enterprises in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Information Services and Banking Services. Its services include freight invoice rating, payment processing, auditing, and the generation of accounting and transportation information. The company also processes and pays facility-related invoices, such as electricity, gas, waste, and telecommunications expenses; and provides telecom expense management solutions, as well as church management software solution and on-line platform to provide generosity services for faith-based and non-profit organizations. In addition, the company, through its banking subsidiary, Cass Commercial Bank, provides a range of banking products and services, such as demand, savings, time, and money market deposits; commercial, industrial, commercial real estate, and construction and land development loans; and cash management services to privately held businesses, restaurant franchises, and faith-related ministries. Further, it provides B2B payment platform for clients that require an agile fintech partner. It operates through its banking facility near downtown St. Louis, Missouri; operating branch in the Bridgeton, Missouri; and leased facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The company was formerly known as Cass Commercial Corporation and changed its name to Cass Information Systems, Inc. in January 2001. Cass Information Systems, Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.