Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) and Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) Head to Head Comparison

Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) and Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Saga Communications has a beta of -0.11, meaning that its stock price is 111% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Echostar has a beta of 1, meaning that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Saga Communications and Echostar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saga Communications	-8.55%	3.87%	2.90%
Echostar	-38.71%	-1.28%	-0.25%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Saga Communications and Echostar”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saga Communications	$107.11 million	0.53	-$7.90 million	($1.38)	-6.53
Echostar	$15.00 billion	1.68	-$14.50 billion	($24.92)	-3.48

Saga Communications has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Echostar. Saga Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Echostar, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Saga Communications and Echostar, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saga Communications	1	2	0	0	1.67
Echostar	1	2	5	1	2.67

Echostar has a consensus price target of $132.00, suggesting a potential upside of 52.27%. Given Echostar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Echostar is more favorable than Saga Communications.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

74.3% of Saga Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.6% of Echostar shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.2% of Saga Communications shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Echostar shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Echostar beats Saga Communications on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saga Communications

Saga Communications, Inc., a media company, engages in acquiring, developing, and operating broadcast properties in the United States. The company's radio stations employ various programming formats, including classic hits, country, classic country, hot/soft/urban adult contemporary, oldies, classic rock, rock, and news/talk. It owns and operates FM and AM radio stations, and metro signals serving various markets. Saga Communications, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.

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.