Head to Head Analysis: Imax Corporation (IMAX) and Regal Entertainment Group (RGC)

Imax Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitabiliy, risk, dividends and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.0% of Imax Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.2% of Regal Entertainment Group shares are held by institutional investors. 18.9% of Imax Corporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Regal Entertainment Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Imax Corporation has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regal Entertainment Group has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Imax Corporation and Regal Entertainment Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Imax Corporation	$352.59 million	4.15	$70.80 million	$0.14	156.80
Regal Entertainment Group	$3.23 billion	0.93	$597.40 million	$1.07	18.00

Regal Entertainment Group has higher revenue and earnings than Imax Corporation. Regal Entertainment Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Imax Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Regal Entertainment Group pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Imax Corporation does not pay a dividend. Regal Entertainment Group pays out 82.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Imax Corporation and Regal Entertainment Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Imax Corporation	2.81%	2.39%	1.72%
Regal Entertainment Group	5.24%	-20.38%	6.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Imax Corporation and Regal Entertainment Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Imax Corporation	0	3	8	0	2.73
Regal Entertainment Group	3	3	6	1	2.38

Imax Corporation presently has a consensus price target of $35.60, suggesting a potential upside of 62.19%. Regal Entertainment Group has a consensus price target of $24.54, suggesting a potential upside of 27.41%. Given Imax Corporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Imax Corporation is more favorable than Regal Entertainment Group.

Summary

Imax Corporation beats Regal Entertainment Group on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

Imax Corporation Company Profile

IMAX Corporation is an entertainment technology company. The Company operates through seven segments: IMAX systems; theater system maintenance; joint revenue sharing arrangements; film production and IMAX DMR; film distribution; film post-production, and other. The IMAX systems segment designs, manufactures, sells or leases IMAX theater projection system equipment. The theater system maintenance segment maintains IMAX theater projection system equipment in the IMAX theater network. The joint revenue sharing arrangements segment provides IMAX theater projection system equipment to exhibitors. The film production and IMAX DMR segment produces films and performs film re-mastering services. The film distribution segment distributes films. The film post-production segment provides film post-production and film print services. The other segment includes certain IMAX theaters that the Company owns and operates, camera rentals and other miscellaneous items.

Regal Entertainment Group Company Profile

Regal Entertainment Group is an operator of theatre circuits in the United States. As of March 31, 2017, the Company operated 7,262 screens in 559 theatres in 43 states along with Guam, Saipan, American Samoa and the District of Columbia. The Company manages its business under theatre exhibition operations segment. The Company develops, acquires and operates multi-screen theatres primarily in mid-sized metropolitan markets and suburban growth areas of metropolitan markets throughout the United States. The Company operates multi-screen theatres. The Company is the parent company of Regal Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (REH), which is the parent company of Regal Cinemas Corporation (Regal Cinemas) and its subsidiaries. Regal Cinemas’ subsidiaries include Regal Cinemas, Inc. (RCI) and its subsidiaries, which include Edwards Theatres, Inc. (Edwards), Regal CineMedia Corporation (RCM) and United Artists Theatre Company (United Artists).