Comparing Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) and Carnival (NYSE:CCL)

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) and Carnival (NYSE:CCL) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Caesars Entertainment and Carnival, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Caesars Entertainment	0	4	12	1	2.82
Carnival	0	8	13	0	2.62

Caesars Entertainment currently has a consensus target price of $42.47, suggesting a potential upside of 58.64%. Carnival has a consensus target price of $30.71, suggesting a potential downside of 3.73%. Given Caesars Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Caesars Entertainment is more favorable than Carnival.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.8% of Caesars Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.2% of Carnival shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Caesars Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Carnival shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Caesars Entertainment and Carnival’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Caesars Entertainment	-1.71%	-4.55%	-0.60%
Carnival	9.72%	27.88%	5.20%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Caesars Entertainment and Carnival”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Caesars Entertainment	$11.37 billion	0.49	-$278.00 million	($0.92)	-29.10
Carnival	$25.02 billion	1.49	$1.92 billion	$1.85	17.24

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

Volatility and Risk

Caesars Entertainment has a beta of 2.4, indicating that its share price is 140% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carnival has a beta of 2.7, indicating that its share price is 170% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Carnival beats Caesars Entertainment on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. operates as a gaming and hospitality company. The company owns, leases, or manages domestic properties in 18 states with slot machines, video lottery terminals and e-tables, and hotel rooms, as well as table games, including poker. It also operates and conducts retail and online sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America and operates iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America; sports betting from our retail and online sportsbooks; and other games, such as keno. In addition, the company operates dining venues, bars, nightclubs, lounges, hotels, and entertainment venues; and provides staffing and management services. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1937 and is based in Reno, Nevada.

About Carnival

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn. The Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations segment consists of AIDA, Costa, Cunard, and P&O Cruises (UK). The Cruise Support segment represents port destinations and private islands for the benefit of its cruise brands. The Tour and Other segment operates hotel and transportation operations of Holland America Princess Alaska Tours. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Miami, FL.