ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) and FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Profitability
This table compares ViacomCBS and FOX's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| ViacomCBS | 5.22% | 18.58% | 5.23% |
| FOX | 13.00% | 16.65% | 8.11% |
Dividends
ViacomCBS pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. FOX pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. ViacomCBS pays out 19.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ViacomCBS has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and FOX has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
80.5% of ViacomCBS shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.5% of FOX shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of ViacomCBS shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.5% of FOX shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares ViacomCBS and FOX's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| ViacomCBS | $27.81 billion | 0.89 | $3.31 billion | $5.01 | 7.94 |
| FOX | $12.30 billion | 1.73 | $999 million | N/A | N/A |
ViacomCBS has higher revenue and earnings than FOX.
Volatility and Risk
ViacomCBS has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FOX has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for ViacomCBS and FOX, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| ViacomCBS | 8 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1.91 |
| FOX | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
ViacomCBS presently has a consensus price target of $46.3478, suggesting a potential upside of 16.54%. FOX has a consensus price target of $31.00, suggesting a potential downside of 14.13%. Given ViacomCBS's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ViacomCBS is more favorable than FOX.
Summary
ViacomCBS beats FOX on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
