Analyzing Pearson, PLC (PSO) and McClatchy Company (The) (NYSE:MNI)

Pearson, PLC (NYSE: PSO) and McClatchy Company (The) (NYSE:MNI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitabiliy, valuation, dividends and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Pearson, PLC and McClatchy Company (The)’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pearson, PLC	$5.97 billion	1.18	$752.47 million	N/A	N/A
McClatchy Company (The)	$943.21 million	0.04	$147.90 million	($18.41)	-0.44

Pearson, PLC has higher revenue and earnings than McClatchy Company (The).

Dividends

Pearson, PLC pays an annual dividend of $0.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. McClatchy Company (The) does not pay a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Pearson, PLC and McClatchy Company (The)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pearson, PLC	N/A	N/A	N/A
McClatchy Company (The)	-14.81%	-10.10%	-0.54%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Pearson, PLC and McClatchy Company (The), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pearson, PLC	5	5	3	0	1.85
McClatchy Company (The)	0	1	0	0	2.00

Institutional and Insider Ownership

2.0% of Pearson, PLC shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.9% of McClatchy Company (The) shares are held by institutional investors. 34.9% of McClatchy Company (The) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Pearson, PLC has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, McClatchy Company (The) has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Pearson, PLC beats McClatchy Company (The) on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pearson, PLC

Pearson plc (Pearson) is a learning company. The Company delivers learning through providing a range of educational products and services to institutions, governments, professional bodies and individual learners. The Company operates through three segments, which include North America, Core and Growth. The Company’s North America segment includes Courseware, Assessments and Services businesses in the United States and Canada. The Company’s Core segment includes Courseware, Assessments and Services businesses in more mature markets including the United Kingdom, Australia and Italy. The Company’s Growth segment includes Courseware, Assessments and Services businesses in emerging markets including Brazil, China, India and South Africa. The Company provides content, assessment and digital services to schools, colleges and universities, as well as professional and vocational education to learners to help increase their skills and employability prospects.

About McClatchy Company (The)

The McClatchy Company is a news and information publisher of various publications, such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News and Observer, and the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram. The Company’s segments include Western Segment and Eastern Segment. Its Western Segment consists of its newspaper operations in California, the Northwest and the Midwest. The Company’s Eastern Segment consists primarily of newspaper operations in the Southeast and Florida. The Company operates 30 media companies in 29 United States markets in 14 states, providing each of these communities with news and advertising services in a range of digital and print formats. The Company’s operations include approximately 30 local media businesses United States that consist of daily newspapers, Websites and mobile applications, publications, direct marketing, direct mail services and community newspapers.