iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) & Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Critical Contrast

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.3% of Comcast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of iHeartMedia shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Comcast shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of iHeartMedia shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comcast	$123.71 billion	0.72	$20.00 billion	$3.09	8.16
iHeartMedia	$3.86 billion	0.11	-$472.87 million	($1.82)	-1.49

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Comcast and iHeartMedia, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comcast	4	13	11	0	2.25
iHeartMedia	2	1	0	0	1.33

Comcast currently has a consensus price target of $32.96, suggesting a potential upside of 30.77%. iHeartMedia has a consensus price target of $4.25, suggesting a potential upside of 57.12%. Given iHeartMedia’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe iHeartMedia is more favorable than Comcast.

Profitability

This table compares Comcast and iHeartMedia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comcast	8.97%	14.77%	5.18%
iHeartMedia	-7.18%	N/A	-1.12%

Volatility & Risk

Comcast has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, iHeartMedia has a beta of 2.19, suggesting that its share price is 119% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Comcast beats iHeartMedia on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising. The Business Services Connectivity segment offers connectivity services for small business locations, which include broadband, wireline voice, and wireless services, as well as solutions for medium-sized customers and larger enterprises; and small business connectivity services in the United Kingdom. The Media segment operates NBCUniversal's television and streaming business, including national and regional cable networks; the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and owned local broadcast television stations; and Peacock, a direct-to-consumer streaming services. It also operates international television networks comprising the Sky Sports networks, as well as other digital properties. The Studios segment operates NBCUniversal and Sky film and television studio production and distribution operations. The Theme Parks segment operates Universal theme parks in Orlando, Florida; Hollywood, California; Osaka, Japan; and Beijing, China. The company also offers a consolidated streaming platforms under the Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Xumo. Comcast Corporation was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc. operates as an audio media company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Multiplatform Group, Digital Audio Group, and Audio & Media Services Group. The Multiplatform Group segment offers broadcast radio stations, sponsorship and events, and live and virtual events; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents syndicated radio programs and services to radio station affiliates. It also delivers real-time traffic flow and incident information, and weather updates, sports, and news. The Digital Audio Group segment provides podcasting, digital sites, newsletters, digital services, and programs; and iHeartRadio, a mobile app and web based service for radio stations, digital only stations, custom artist stations, and podcasts. The Audio and Media Services Group segment engages in the media representation business; and provides scheduling and broadcast software and services. This segment also provides RCS, a cloud and on-premises broadcast software, such as radio and television automation, music scheduling, newsroom automation, advertising sales management, disaster recovery solutions; and real-time audio recognition technology to radio and television stations, cable channels, record labels, advertisers, and agencies, as well as media streaming and research services. The company was formerly known as CC Media Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014. The company is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.