News (NASDAQ:NWS – Get Free Report) and Cable One (NYSE:CABO – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares News and Cable One’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| News | 6.76% | 7.42% | 4.45% |
| Cable One | -112.20% | -22.87% | -3.53% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares News and Cable One”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| News | $9.16 billion | 1.75 | $573.00 million | $1.12 | 26.50 |
| Cable One | $1.50 billion | 0.01 | -$356.46 million | ($275.24) | -0.01 |
News has higher revenue and earnings than Cable One. Cable One is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than News, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
14.6% of News shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of Cable One shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of News shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Cable One shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings for News and Cable One, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| News | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.50 |
| Cable One | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.60 |
Cable One has a consensus price target of $63.75, indicating a potential upside of 1,953.14%. Given Cable One’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cable One is more favorable than News.
Volatility and Risk
News has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Cable One has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
News beats Cable One on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About News
News Corporation, which trades on Nasdaq as NWS, is a global media and information services company. Its businesses span news and financial information, book publishing, digital real estate services, and news media. Its brands and operations include Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and provider of financial information; HarperCollins Publishers; digital real estate platforms such as Realtor.com; and news outlets including the New York Post, The Times and The Sun in the United Kingdom, and publications in Australia.
About Cable One
Cable One, Inc. is a broadband communications provider serving residential and business customers, primarily in smaller communities across the United States. It markets many of its residential services under the Sparklight name. The company provides high-speed internet, cable television and voice services to households. Its business offerings include internet connectivity, data transport, voice and other communications solutions for organizations of varying sizes. Cable One traces its history to a cable television business established in 1986 and became an independent public company after its separation from Graham Holdings in 1997.
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