Comparing Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) & Alight (NYSE:ALIT)
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyAlight (NYSE:ALIT – Get Free Report) and Dayforce (NYSE:DAY – Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.
Risk & Volatility
Alight has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dayforce has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Alight and Dayforce”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Alight | $2.33 billion | 0.45 | -$157.00 million | ($4.09) | -0.48 |
| Dayforce | $1.76 billion | 6.29 | $18.10 million | ($0.94) | -73.55 |
Dayforce has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Alight. Dayforce is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alight, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Alight and Dayforce, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Alight | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2.60 |
| Dayforce | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2.06 |
Alight currently has a consensus target price of $5.25, indicating a potential upside of 166.50%. Dayforce has a consensus target price of $70.36, indicating a potential upside of 1.76%. Given Alight’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Alight is more favorable than Dayforce.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
96.7% of Alight shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Alight shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Dayforce shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Alight and Dayforce’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Alight | -94.23% | 7.89% | 3.80% |
| Dayforce | -7.91% | 6.54% | 1.92% |
Summary
Alight beats Dayforce on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Alight
Alight, Inc. provides cloud-based integrated digital human capital and business solutions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Employer Solutions and Professional Services. The Employer Solutions segment offers employee wellbeing, integrated benefits administration, healthcare navigation, financial wellbeing, leave of absence management, retiree healthcare and payroll; and operates AI-led capabilities software. The Professional Services segment offers consulting offerings, such as cloud advisory, deployment, and optimization services for cloud platforms. The company provides Alight Worklife, an intuitive, cloud-based employee engagement platform. Its solutions enable employees to enrich their health, wealth, and wellbeing that helps organizations achieve a high-performance culture. Alight, Inc. was founded in 2020 and is based in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
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.