Reviewing KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI) and TeliaSonera (OTCMKTS:TLSNY)

TeliaSonera (OTCMKTS:TLSNY) and KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI) are both communication services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

TeliaSonera has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KVH Industries has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for TeliaSonera and KVH Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TeliaSonera	1	2	0	1	2.25
KVH Industries	1	0	0	0	1.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares TeliaSonera and KVH Industries”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TeliaSonera	$8.28 billion	2.20	$360.26 million	$0.27	34.26
KVH Industries	$111.01 million	1.63	-$7.38 million	($0.26)	-35.62

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

73.7% of KVH Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.4% of KVH Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares TeliaSonera and KVH Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TeliaSonera	6.26%	9.10%	2.68%
KVH Industries	-4.31%	-0.80%	-0.70%

Summary

TeliaSonera beats KVH Industries on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TeliaSonera

Telia Company AB (publ) provides communication services to businesses, individuals, families, and communities in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. It offers mobile, broadband, television, and fixed-line services; and networking, cloud and security, mobility, enterprise mobile network, contact center, managed mobility services, collaboration solutions, enterprise telephony, Internet of Things (IoT), carrier ethernet, dedicated internet access, wavelengths, IP Transit, dark fiber, and colocation solutions. The company also provides IoT connectivity, building monitoring, smart public transport, and smart utilities, as well as transport and logistics solutions comprising connected vehicle, asset tracking, and fleet management services. It markets its products and services under the Telia, Telia Cygate, TV4, C More, Halebop, Fello, MTV, Phonero, Onecall, MyCall, CallMe, MIT Tele, Ezys, Diil, Super, and Imt brand names for transport and logistics, public transport, manufacturing, retail, utilities, buildings and real estate, and public sector industries. The company was formerly known as TeliaSonera AB (publ) and changed its name to Telia Company AB (publ) in April 2016. Telia Company AB (publ) was founded in 1853 and is based in Solna, Sweden.

About KVH Industries

KVH Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of mobile connectivity solutions for the marine and land mobile markets in the United States and internationally. The company offers Internet and VoIP airtime services; AgilePlans, a Connectivity as a Service solution; KVH Link, a crew wellbeing content subscription service with delivery by IP-Mobilecast; and OpenNet, a KVH VSAT data delivering service for non-KVH Ku-band VSAT terminals. It also provides TracNet, an integrated hybrid two-way communication terminal with VSAT, 5G/LTE, and shore-based Wi-Fi; TracPhone, a two-way VSAT-only satellite communications system; CommBox, ship-to-shore network management software for maritime communications; CommBox Edge, an advanced maritime network optimization and management solution; Starlink, a companion terminal for TracNet and TracPhone systems; KVH ONE, a global hybrid communication network supporting Internet, VoIP, content delivery, and other; and TracVision, a satellite television antenna system for vessels, recreational vehicles, buses, conversion vans, and automobiles. In addition, the company offers KVH Elite, a streaming service for leisure yachts; KVH OneCare, a services and support for TracNet and TracPhone systems; MOVIElink, a movie distribution solution; MUSIClink, a music and karaoke delivery solution; NEWSlink, a maritime news delivery solution; SPORTSlink, a sporting content delivery solution; TVlink, a television programming delivery solution; and news from home, a digital newspaper service. It sells its mobile communications products through a network of independent retailers, chain stores, distributors, and service providers, as well as to manufacturers of vessels, maritime equipment, and vehicles. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Middletown, Rhode Island.