Financial Contrast: Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) versus SPAR Group (NASDAQ:SGRP)

SPAR Group (NASDAQ:SGRP) and Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

SPAR Group has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Saga Communications has a beta of -0.1, meaning that its stock price is 110% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for SPAR Group and Saga Communications, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SPAR Group	1	0	0	0	1.00
Saga Communications	1	2	0	0	1.67

Insider and Institutional Ownership

9.6% of SPAR Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.3% of Saga Communications shares are held by institutional investors. 43.0% of SPAR Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.2% of Saga Communications shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SPAR Group and Saga Communications”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SPAR Group	$132.58 million	0.14	-$24.63 million	($1.03)	-0.64
Saga Communications	$107.11 million	0.58	-$7.90 million	($1.35)	-7.19

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

Profitability

This table compares SPAR Group and Saga Communications’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SPAR Group	-18.51%	-107.74%	-19.90%
Saga Communications	-8.24%	3.88%	2.90%

Summary

Saga Communications beats SPAR Group on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SPAR Group

SPAR Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides merchandising and brand marketing services in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. The company offers merchandising and marketing services, such as resets and cut-ins; price and inventory audits; stock replenishment and rotation services; out of stock management; promotional event setup; and display management, as well as category management and set up services comprising category and product resets; planogram maintenance; display and shelf services; and point of purchase installation and management. It also provides remodel and retail transformation consisting of store remodels, store department resets, fixture and banner installations, pop-up store services, and store closings; and assembly and installation services, including assembly of merchandise in stores, in-store services, office setup/down-sizing services, and national in-home furniture assembly services. In addition, the company offers business analytics and insights services, such as product dashboards, stock out reporting, visit reporting, real-time service insights, and share of shelf analytics; and fulfillment and distribution services comprising distribution center staffing, point of purchase fulfillment services, kiosk prep, returns processing, picking and packing services, and inventory services. The company serves mass merchandisers; HBAs; pharmacies; and grocery, discount, dollar, convenience, cash and carry, home improvement, consumer electronics, automotive aftermarket, office supply, personal technology, beverage, household products, consumables, financial products, and independent stores. SPAR Group, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

About Saga Communications

Saga Communications, Inc., a media company, engages in acquiring, developing, and operating broadcast properties in the United States. The company's radio stations employ various programming formats, including classic hits, country, classic country, hot/soft/urban adult contemporary, oldies, classic rock, rock, and news/talk. It owns and operates FM and AM radio stations, and metro signals serving various markets. Saga Communications, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.