Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: BATRK) and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitabiliy, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
71.4% of Liberty Media Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.3% of Comcast Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Comcast Corporation shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Liberty Media Corporation has a beta of 2.41, meaning that its share price is 141% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comcast Corporation has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Liberty Media Corporation and Comcast Corporation’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Liberty Media Corporation | $263.00 million | 4.66 | -$22.00 million | ($2.16) | -11.47 |
| Comcast Corporation | $83.97 billion | 2.28 | $27.79 billion | $1.99 | 20.47 |
Comcast Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Liberty Media Corporation. Liberty Media Corporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Comcast Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Comcast Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Liberty Media Corporation does not pay a dividend. Comcast Corporation pays out 31.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Liberty Media Corporation and Comcast Corporation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Liberty Media Corporation | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Comcast Corporation | 0 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 2.96 |
Liberty Media Corporation currently has a consensus price target of $22.00, suggesting a potential downside of 11.18%. Comcast Corporation has a consensus price target of $45.69, suggesting a potential upside of 12.46%. Given Comcast Corporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Comcast Corporation is more favorable than Liberty Media Corporation.
Profitability
This table compares Liberty Media Corporation and Comcast Corporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Liberty Media Corporation | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Comcast Corporation | 11.45% | 16.80% | 5.23% |
Summary
Comcast Corporation beats Liberty Media Corporation on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Liberty Media Corporation
Liberty Media Corporation owns interests in subsidiaries and other companies, which are engaged in the media and entertainment industries. The Company’s principal businesses and assets include its consolidated subsidiaries Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRIUS XM) and Braves Holdings, LLC (Braves Holdings), and its equity affiliate Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (Live Nation). The Company’s segments are SIRIUS XM, and Corporate and other. SIRIUS XM provides a subscription-based satellite radio service. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company principally operates in North America. The Company also owns a portfolio of minority equity investments in publicly traded media companies, including Time Warner, Inc. and Viacom, Inc. SIRIUS XM transmits music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels, as well as infotainment services, in the United States on a subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation is a media and technology company. The Company has two primary businesses: Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Its Comcast Cable business operates in the Cable Communications segment. Its NBCUniversal business operates in four business segments: Cable Networks, Broadcast Television, Filmed Entertainment and Theme Parks. Its Cable Communications segment consists of the operations of Comcast Cable, which provides video, high-speed Internet and voice services to residential customers under the XFINITY brand. Its Cable Networks segment consists of a portfolio of national cable networks. Its Broadcast Television segment operates the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks. Its Filmed Entertainment segment primarily produces, acquires, markets and distributes filmed entertainment across the world, and it also develops, produces and licenses live stage plays. Its Theme Parks segment consists primarily of its Universal theme parks in Orlando, Florida and Hollywood, California.
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