Gray Media (NYSE:GTN – Get Free Report) and Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Gray Media and Echostar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Gray Media | -0.83% | -1.12% | -0.23% |
| Echostar | 81.29% | 22.85% | 6.09% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Gray Media and Echostar, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Gray Media | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Echostar | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3.00 |
Gray Media presently has a consensus target price of $7.88, suggesting a potential upside of 61.21%. Echostar has a consensus target price of $139.44, suggesting a potential upside of 55.08%. Given Gray Media’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Gray Media is more favorable than Echostar.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Gray Media and Echostar”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Gray Media | $3.10 billion | 0.16 | -$85.00 million | ($0.61) | -8.01 |
| Echostar | $3.48 billion | 7.52 | -$14.50 billion | ($24.92) | -3.61 |
Gray Media has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Echostar. Gray Media is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Echostar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Gray Media has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Echostar has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
78.6% of Gray Media shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.6% of Echostar shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.9% of Gray Media shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 54.6% of Echostar shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Echostar beats Gray Media on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Gray Media
Gray Television, Inc., a television broadcasting company, owns and/or operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. It also broadcasts secondary digital channels affiliated to ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as various other networks and program services, including CW Plus Network, MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, THE365, and Outlaw; and local news/weather channels in various markets. It owns and operates television stations and digital assets that serve television markets in the United States. The company was formerly known as Gray Communications Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Gray Television, Inc. in August 2002. Gray Television, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
About Echostar
EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Hughes and EchoStar Satellite Services (ESS). The Hughes segment offers broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services, and communications solutions to government and enterprise customers. The segment also designs, provides, and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, it designs, develops, constructs, and provides telecommunication networks comprising satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators and enterprise customers. Further, this segment designs, provides, and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems, as well as offers satellite ground segment systems and terminals for other satellite systems, including mobile system operators. The ESS segment provides satellite services using its owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses to offer satellite services on a full-time and/or occasional-use basis to the U.S. government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, content providers, and private enterprise customers. It serves customers in North America, South and Central America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, India, and the Middle East. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.
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