Analyzing Lindblad Expeditions (NASDAQ:LIND) & Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM)

Lindblad Expeditions (NASDAQ:LIND) and Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Lindblad Expeditions has a beta of 2.65, indicating that its stock price is 165% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trip.com Group has a beta of 0.09, indicating that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lindblad Expeditions and Trip.com Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lindblad Expeditions	-3.88%	N/A	-2.95%
Trip.com Group	30.95%	11.55%	6.58%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.9% of Lindblad Expeditions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.4% of Trip.com Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 34.0% of Lindblad Expeditions shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.0% of Trip.com Group shares are owned 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lindblad Expeditions and Trip.com Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lindblad Expeditions	0	0	3	0	3.00
Trip.com Group	0	0	10	2	3.17

Lindblad Expeditions currently has a consensus price target of $15.67, indicating a potential upside of 40.63%. Trip.com Group has a consensus price target of $77.25, indicating a potential upside of 38.33%. Given Lindblad Expeditions’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Lindblad Expeditions is more favorable than Trip.com Group.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lindblad Expeditions and Trip.com Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lindblad Expeditions	$644.73 million	0.95	-$31.18 million	($0.60)	-18.57
Trip.com Group	$7.30 billion	5.00	$2.34 billion	$3.45	16.19

Trip.com Group has higher revenue and earnings than Lindblad Expeditions. Lindblad Expeditions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trip.com Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Trip.com Group beats Lindblad Expeditions on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lindblad Expeditions

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. provides marine expedition adventures and travel experience worldwide. It operates through Lindblad and Land Experiences segment. Lindblad segment provides ship-based expeditions aboard customized, nimble, and intimately-scaled vessels, which offers up-close experiences in the planet's wild and remote places, and capitals of culture; and offers expedition ship which is equipped with state-of-the-art tools for in-depth exploration with infrastructure and ports, such as Antarctica and the Arctic, and places that accessed by a ship comprising Galápagos Islands, Alaska, Baja California's Sea of Cortez and Panama, and foster engagement activities. The Land Experiences segment comprises natural habitats, which provides over 100 different expedition itineraries in more than 45 countries across seven continents, with eco-conscious expeditions and nature-focused, and small-group tours including polar bear tours and bear adventure; and DuVine provides intimate group cycling and adventure tours around the world with local cycling experts as guides in local cultural, cuisine, and accommodations. This segment also offers off the beaten path including small group travel, led by local, and experienced guides with focus on wildlife, hiking national parks, and culture; and classical journey, a curated active small-group and private custom journeys centered around cinematic walks led by expert local guides over 50 countries across the world. In addition, it has an alliance with National Geographic Partners, LLC, which provides lecturers and National Geographic experts including photographers, marine biologists, writers, naturalists, field researchers, and film crews; and partnered with World Wildlife Fund to offer conservation travel. Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a travel service provider for accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and in-destination, corporate travel management, and other travel-related services in China and internationally. The company acts as an agent for hotel-related transactions and selling air tickets, as well as provides train, long-distance bus, and ferry tickets; travel insurance products, such as flight delay, air accident, and baggage loss coverage; and air-ticket delivery, online check-in and seat selection, express security screening, real-time flight status tracker, and airport VIP lounge services. It also provides independent leisure travelers bundled packaged-tour products comprising group, semi-group, and customized and packaged tours with various transportation arrangements, including air, cruise, bus, and car rental services. In addition, the company offers integrated transportation and accommodation services; destination transportation and ticket, activity, insurance, visa, and tour guide services; user support, supplier management, and customer relationship management services; and in-destination products and services. Further, It provides its corporate clients with business visit, incentive trip, meeting and conference, travel data collection and analysis, and industry benchmarking solutions; and Corporate Travel Management System, an online platform that integrates information management, online booking and authorization, online inquiry, and travel reporting systems. Additionally, the company offers online advertising and financial services, such as marketing planning and travel media services. It operates under the Ctrip, Qunar, Trip.com, and Skyscanner brands. The company was formerly known as Ctrip.com International, Ltd. and changed its name to Trip.com Group Limited in October 2019. Trip.com Group Limited was founded in 1999 and is based in Singapore.