Head to Head Comparison: Neustar (NSR) versus Telecom Argentina Stet - France Telecom (NYSE:TEO)

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom (NYSE: TEO) and Neustar (NYSE:NSR) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom and Neustar’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom	$3.16 billion	1.73	$823.94 million	$1.69	16.65
Neustar	$1.22 billion	1.53	$473.09 million	$3.27	10.24

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom has higher revenue and earnings than Neustar. Neustar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom and Neustar, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom	0	2	2	0	2.50
Neustar	0	3	0	0	2.00

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom currently has a consensus price target of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.06%. Neustar has a consensus price target of $29.50, suggesting a potential downside of 11.94%. Given Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom is more favorable than Neustar.

Volatility & Risk

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Neustar has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

5.9% of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.8% of Neustar shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Neustar shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom and Neustar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom	8.92%	25.23%	10.79%
Neustar	15.03%	32.93%	13.97%

Dividends

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Neustar does not pay a dividend. Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom beats Neustar on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

Telecom Argentina Stet – France Telecom Company Profile

Telecom Argentina S.A. provides fixed-line telecommunications services in Argentina, and also provides other telephone-related services, such as international long-distance service, data transmission, information technology solutions outsourcing and Internet services. The Company’s segments include Fixed Telecommunications Services (Fixed Services), Personal Mobile Telecommunications Services (Personal Mobile Services) and Nucleo Mobile Telecommunications Services (Nucleo Mobile Services). The Company, through its subsidiaries, also provides mobile telecommunications services and international wholesale services. The Fixed services segment consists of basic telephone services, interconnection services, data transmission and Internet services, information and communication technology services, and other telephone services. The Company, through its subsidiaries, such as Telecom Personal S.A. and Nucleo S.A., provides mobile services in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively.

Neustar Company Profile

NeuStar, Inc. is a global information services provider. The Company’s cloud-based platforms and differentiated data sets offer informative, real-time analytics, which enable clients to make actionable, data-driven decisions. It provides chief marketing officers a suite of services to plan their media spends, identify and locate desired customers, invest in marketing campaigns, deliver relevant offers and measure the performance of these activities. Security professionals use the Company’s solutions to maximize Web performance and protect against malicious attacks. It enables the exchange of essential operating information across multiple carriers to provision and manage services, assisting clients with order processing and routing of customer inquiries. The Company’s services include marketing services, security services, data services and number portability administration center (NPAC) services.