Reviewing Gannett (NYSE:GCI) & Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY)

Gannett (NYSE:GCI) and Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Gannett and Lendway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gannett	4.11%	42.98%	3.97%
Lendway	-9.15%	-34.26%	-4.34%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Gannett and Lendway”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gannett	$2.51 billion	0.27	-$26.35 million	$0.21	21.67
Lendway	$37.77 million	0.16	-$5.74 million	($2.44)	-1.39

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.7% of Gannett shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of Lendway shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Gannett shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Lendway shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Gannett has a beta of 2.55, meaning that its stock price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lendway has a beta of 2.64, meaning that its stock price is 164% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Gannett and Lendway, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gannett	1	1	1	0	2.00
Lendway	1	0	0	0	1.00

Gannett presently has a consensus target price of $5.55, indicating a potential upside of 21.98%. Given Gannett’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Gannett is more favorable than Lendway.

Summary

Gannett beats Lendway on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gannett

Gannett Co., Inc. operates as a media and marketing solutions company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Domestic Gannett Media, Newsquest, and Digital Marketing Solutions. The company's print offerings includes home delivery on a subscription basis; single copy; non-daily publications, such as shoppers and niche publications. It also provides digital-only subscription, including local media brands, USA TODAY NETWORK community events platform, magazines, sports, and games; and E-newspapers; and digital advertising and marketing services. In addition, the company offers digital news and media brands; daily and weekly newspapers; digital marketing solutions, such as online presence solutions, online advertising products, conversion software, and cloud-based software solutions; commercial printing and distribution services; and prints commercial materials, including flyers, business cards, and invitations. The company was formerly known as New Media Investment Group Inc. and changed its name to Gannett Co., Inc. in November 2019. Gannett Co., Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About Lendway

Lendway, Inc. operates as a specialty agricultural and finance company focusing on making and managing its agricultural investments in the United States and internationally. It owns and operates FarmlandCredit.com, a non-bank lending business that seeks to purchase existing loans and/or originate and fund new loans domestically. The company was formerly known as Insignia Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Lendway, Inc. in August 2023. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.