Head-To-Head Survey: Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) versus Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY)

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) and Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Waystar and Dayforce’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waystar	8.50%	5.65%	3.81%
Dayforce	2.65%	7.37%	2.17%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Waystar and Dayforce, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waystar	0	1	12	3	3.13
Dayforce	0	14	2	1	2.24

Waystar presently has a consensus price target of $45.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.04%. Dayforce has a consensus price target of $70.36, indicating a potential upside of 3.04%. Given Waystar’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Waystar is more favorable than Dayforce.

Risk and Volatility

Waystar has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dayforce has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Waystar and Dayforce”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waystar	$943.55 million	6.83	-$19.12 million	$0.48	77.04
Dayforce	$1.76 billion	6.20	$18.10 million	$0.30	227.60

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

Summary

Waystar beats Dayforce on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waystar

Waystar Holding Corp. is a software company which provide healthcare payments. Waystar Holding Corp. is based in LEHI, Utah.

About Dayforce

Dayforce Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a human capital management (HCM) software company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers Dayforce, a cloud HCM platform that provides human resources, payroll and tax, workforce management, wallet, benefits, and talent intelligence functionalities; and Powerpay, a cloud HR and payroll solution for the small business market. The company also provides payroll and payroll-related services; and implementation and professional services. It sells its solutions through direct sales force and third-party channels. The company was formerly known as Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. and changed its name to Dayforce Inc. in February 2024. Dayforce Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.