Head-To-Head Comparison: Carnival (NYSE:CUK) versus Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN)

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) and Carnival (NYSE:CUK) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Vail Resorts and Carnival, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vail Resorts	1	8	4	0	2.23
Carnival	0	1	0	0	2.00

Vail Resorts currently has a consensus target price of $175.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.75%. Given Vail Resorts’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Vail Resorts is more favorable than Carnival.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.9% of Vail Resorts shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.8% of Carnival shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Vail Resorts shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Carnival shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Vail Resorts and Carnival’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vail Resorts	8.94%	32.51%	4.66%
Carnival	10.37%	28.39%	6.09%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vail Resorts and Carnival”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vail Resorts	$2.96 billion	1.71	$280.00 million	$6.82	20.73
Carnival	$26.62 billion	0.22	$2.76 billion	$2.00	15.38

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

Volatility & Risk

Vail Resorts has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carnival has a beta of 2.54, meaning that its share price is 154% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vail Resorts beats Carnival on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates 41 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in the ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities. The Lodging segment owns and/or manages various luxury hotels and condominiums under the RockResorts brand; other lodging properties; various condominiums located in proximity to the company's mountain resorts; destination resorts; and golf courses, as well as offers resort ground transportation services. This segment operates owned and managed hotel and condominium units. The Real Estate segment owns, develops, and sells real estate properties. The company was founded in 1845 and is based in Broomfield, Colorado.

About Carnival

Carnival Plc operates as a global cruise and vacation company. The firm offers holiday and vacation products to a customer base that is broadly varied in terms of cultures, languages and leisure-time preferences. It operates through the North America and Australia (NAA), Europe and Asia (EA), Cruise Support, and Tour and Other segments. The NAA segment includes Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, P and O Cruises (Australia), Princess and Seabourn. The EA segment includes AIDA, Costa, Cunard, and P and O Cruises (UK). The Cruise Support segment includes a portfolio of port destinations and other services, all of which are operated for the benefit of cruise brands. The Tour and Other segment represents the hotel and transportation operations of Holland America Princess Alaska Tours and other operations. The company was founded on July 19, 2000 and is headquartered in Southampton, the United Kingdom.