Comparing Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) and Viewtran Group (OTCMKTS:VIEWF)

Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) and Viewtran Group (OTCMKTS:VIEWF) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

33.0% of Sohu.com shares are held by institutional investors. 21.1% of Sohu.com shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.2% of Viewtran Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Sohu.com and Viewtran Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sohu.com	0	1	2	0	2.67
Viewtran Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

Sohu.com currently has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.72%. Given Sohu.com’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Sohu.com is more favorable than Viewtran Group.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sohu.com and Viewtran Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sohu.com	$584.33 million	0.68	$394.10 million	$14.08	1.09
Viewtran Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Sohu.com has higher revenue and earnings than Viewtran Group.

Profitability

This table compares Sohu.com and Viewtran Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sohu.com	67.44%	20.67%	13.84%
Viewtran Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Sohu.com has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viewtran Group has a beta of -31.28, indicating that its stock price is 3,228% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Sohu.com beats Viewtran Group on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sohu.com

Sohu.com Limited engages in the provision of online media, video, and game products and services on personal computers (PCs) and mobile devices in China. It operates through two segments: Sohu and Changyou. The company offers online news, information, and content services through the mobile phone application Sohu News APP, mobile portal m.sohu.com, and www.sohu.com for PCs; and online video content and services through mobile phone application Sohu Video APP and tv.sohu.com, as well as ifox, a video application for PC. It also operates Focus (www.focus.cn), which provides online real estate information and services; and 17173.com website, which provides news, electronic forums, online videos, and other online game information services to game players, as well as offers mobile game distribution services. In addition, the company offers interactive online games for PCs and mobile devices. Further, it provides paid subscription and interactive broadcasting services. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

About Viewtran Group

Viewtran Group, Inc. provides supply chain financial services and enterprise solutions for the technology industry in China. It offers software development and technical deployment services; and hardware, software, and technical services. The company was formerly known as Cogo Group, Inc. and changed its name to Viewtran Group, Inc. in November 2013. Viewtran Group, Inc. is based in Shenzhen, China.