Head-To-Head Survey: FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) and Emerald (NYSE:EEX)

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) and FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk and earnings.

Dividends

Emerald pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. FOX pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Emerald pays out -31.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FOX pays out 14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. FOX has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Emerald is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Emerald and FOX”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Emerald	$471.10 million	2.12	-$30.70 million	($0.19)	-26.52
FOX	$17.13 billion	1.50	$1.69 billion	$3.83	16.03

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Emerald and FOX, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Emerald	1	2	0	0	1.67
FOX	1	0	7	2	3.00

Emerald presently has a consensus price target of $5.03, indicating a potential downside of 0.18%. FOX has a consensus price target of $76.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.76%. Given FOX’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe FOX is more favorable than Emerald.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.9% of Emerald shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.4% of FOX shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Emerald shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 23.1% of FOX shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Emerald and FOX’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Emerald	-8.24%	-10.81%	-3.18%
FOX	9.84%	20.64%	10.76%

Volatility & Risk

Emerald has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FOX has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

FOX beats Emerald on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Emerald

Emerald Holding, Inc. operates business-to-business (B2B) trade shows in the United States. The company provides B2B trade show franchises; and B2B print publications and digital media products, which provide industry specific business news and information across various sectors. It also offers B2B e-commerce and digital merchandising solutions to manufacturers and retailers through Elastic Suite and Bulletin platforms. The company serves retail, design, technology, equipment, and safety and security. Emerald Holding, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About FOX

Fox Corporation operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company in the United States (U.S.). The company operates through four segments: Cable Network Programming, Television, Credible, and The FOX Studio Lot. The Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news and sports content for distribution through traditional cable television systems, direct broadcast satellite operators and telecommunication companies, virtual multi-channel video programming distributors, and other digital platforms primarily in the U.S. Television segment produces, acquires, markets, and distributes programming through the FOX broadcast network, advertising supported video-on-demand service Tubi, and operates power broadcast television stations including duopolies and other digital platform; and produces content for third parties. The Credible segment engages in the consumer finance marketplace. The FOX Studio Lot segment provides television and film production services along with office space, studio operation services and includes all operations of the facility. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in New York, New York.