USA Today (NYSE:TDAY – Get Free Report) and Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares USA Today and Sirius XM”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| USA Today | $2.30 billion | 0.41 | $1.75 million | ($0.30) | -21.53 |
| Sirius XM | $8.56 billion | 1.15 | $805.00 million | $2.50 | 11.69 |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for USA Today and Sirius XM, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| USA Today | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Sirius XM | 3 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 2.32 |
USA Today currently has a consensus target price of $9.03, indicating a potential upside of 39.71%. Sirius XM has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.53%. Given USA Today’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe USA Today is more favorable than Sirius XM.
Volatility and Risk
USA Today has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sirius XM has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares USA Today and Sirius XM’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| USA Today | -1.81% | -21.13% | -1.85% |
| Sirius XM | 10.23% | 9.37% | 4.02% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
76.7% of USA Today shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.7% of Sirius XM shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of USA Today shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Sirius XM shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Sirius XM beats USA Today on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About USA Today
Gannett Co Inc. invests in, owns, and operates local media assets in the United States. The company’s principal products include 125 daily newspapers with total paid circulation of approximately 1.4 million; 314 weekly newspapers with total paid circulation of approximately 315,000 and total free circulation of approximately 1.9 million; 124 shoppers with total circulation of approximately 3.0 million; and 538 locally-focused Websites, including Internet and mobile devices with approximately 224 million page views per month. Its principal products also comprise 2 yellow page directories with a total distribution of approximately 230,000 that cover a population of approximately 411,000 people; 68 business publications; and Propel digital marketing and business services. In addition, the company produces niche publications that address specific local market interests, such as recreation, sports, healthcare, and real estate. Further, it provides print and online products that offer local market news and information on various topics comprising local news and politics, community and regional events, youth sports, opinion and editorial pages, local schools, obituaries, weddings, and police reports, as well as print and digital advertising products, as well as commercial printing and regional business-oriented publications services. The company reaches approximately 20 million people per week; and serves approximately 220,000 business customers. New Media Investment Group Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in New York, New York.
About Sirius XM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. operates as an audio entertainment company in North America. It operates in two segments, Sirius XM, and Pandora and Off-platform. The company’s Sirius XM segment provides music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels, and other content, as well as podcast and infotainment services on subscription fee basis; and live, curated, and exclusive and on demand programming services through satellite radio systems and streamed through applications for mobile and home devices, and other consumer electronic equipment. This segment also distributes satellite radios through automakers and retailers, as well as its website; podcasts, including true crime, news, politics, music, comedy, sports, and entertainment; and offers location-based services through two-way wireless connectivity, including safety, security, convenience, maintenance and data, remote vehicles diagnostic, and stolen or parked vehicle locator services. In addition, this segment provides music channels on the DISH Network satellite television service as a programming package; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedule and scores, and movie listings; graphic information related to road closings, traffic flow, and incident data for consumers with in-vehicle navigation systems; real-time weather services in vehicles, boats, and planes; and music programming and commercial-free music services for office, restaurants, and other business. Its Pandora and Off-platform segment operates music, comedy, and podcast streaming platform, which offers personalized experience for listener through computers, tablets, mobile devices, vehicle speakers, and connected devices; and provides advertising services. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in New York.
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