Critical Review: Agritek (OTCMKTS:AGTK) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Agritek (OTCMKTS:AGTK) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Agritek and Mastercard’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agritek	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mastercard	45.28%	202.03%	29.11%

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agritek	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mastercard	$31.47 billion	15.40	$12.87 billion	$15.64	34.52

Mastercard has higher revenue and earnings than Agritek.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.3% of Mastercard shares are held by institutional investors. 9.9% of Agritek shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Mastercard shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Agritek and Mastercard, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agritek	0	0	0	0	0.00
Mastercard	0	2	22	5	3.10

Mastercard has a consensus target price of $662.08, suggesting a potential upside of 22.65%. Given Mastercard’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Mastercard is more favorable than Agritek.

Volatility and Risk

Agritek has a beta of -0.35, indicating that its share price is 135% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mastercard has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Mastercard beats Agritek on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agritek

Agritek Holdings, Inc. distributes hemp and cannabis products under the Hemp Pops, MD Vapes, Rehab Rx, Higher Society, and California Premiums brands in the United States. Its products include human ingestible, such as tinctures, capsules, and gummies; CBD edibles; topicals; and pet products. The company also offers business services, including operational and compliance consulting, funding and financing, dispensary and retail, commercial production and equipment build out, multichannel supply chain, and consumer product, as well as branding, marketing, and sales solutions. In addition, it is involved in the acquisition and leasing of real estate properties, such as cultivation space and related facilities to licensed marijuana growers and dispensary owners. Agritek Holdings, Inc. distributes its products through e-commerce websites comprising RehabRx.com and Hemppops.com; third-party e-commerce websites; and various brick and mortar retailers. The company was formerly known as MediSwipe Inc. and changed its name to Agritek Holdings, Inc. in April 2014. Agritek Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from a physical card and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions; and treasury intelligence platform that offers corporations with recommendations to enhance working capital performance and accelerate spend on cards. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Send, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and Mastercard Cross-Border Services enables a range of payment flows through a distribution network with a single point of access to send and receive money globally through various channels, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, cards, and cash payouts. Further, it provides cyber and intelligence solutions; insights and analytics, consulting, marketing, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants; and open banking and digital identity services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus name. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.