Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Risk and Volatility
Comcast has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Charter Communications has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
82.6% of Comcast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.1% of Charter Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Comcast shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Charter Communications shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Comcast and Charter Communications' top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Comcast | $108.94 billion | 2.27 | $13.06 billion | $3.13 | 17.23 |
Charter Communications | $45.76 billion | 2.57 | $1.67 billion | $7.54 | 80.59 |
Comcast has higher revenue and earnings than Charter Communications. Comcast is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Charter Communications, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Comcast and Charter Communications, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Comcast | 0 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 2.68 |
Charter Communications | 0 | 4 | 19 | 1 | 2.88 |
Comcast currently has a consensus price target of $54.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.13%. Charter Communications has a consensus price target of $668.7391, indicating a potential upside of 10.06%. Given Charter Communications' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Charter Communications is more favorable than Comcast.
Profitability
This table compares Comcast and Charter Communications' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Comcast | 9.90% | 15.45% | 4.94% |
Charter Communications | 5.70% | 7.50% | 1.87% |
Summary
Charter Communications beats Comcast on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.