Head-To-Head Survey: New York Times (NYSE:NYT) vs. MediaCo (NASDAQ:MDIA)

New York Times (NYSE:NYT) and MediaCo (NASDAQ:MDIA) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares New York Times and MediaCo”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
New York Times	$2.82 billion	3.64	$343.98 million	$2.40	26.59
MediaCo	$139.42 million	0.66	-$69.74 million	($0.83)	-1.31

New York Times has higher revenue and earnings than MediaCo. MediaCo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than New York Times, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.4% of New York Times shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of MediaCo shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of New York Times shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of MediaCo shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for New York Times and MediaCo, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
New York Times	0	5	5	1	2.64
MediaCo	1	0	0	0	1.00

New York Times presently has a consensus price target of $84.20, indicating a potential upside of 31.96%. Given New York Times’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe New York Times is more favorable than MediaCo.

Risk and Volatility

New York Times has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MediaCo has a beta of -0.05, indicating that its share price is 105% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares New York Times and MediaCo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
New York Times	13.19%	22.64%	15.58%
MediaCo	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

New York Times beats MediaCo on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About New York Times

The New York Times Company, together with its subsidiaries, creates, collects, and distributes news and information worldwide. The company operates through two segments, The New York Times Group and The Athletic. It offers The New York Times (The Times) through company’s mobile application, website, printed newspaper, and associated content, such as podcast. The company also offers The Athletic, a sports media product; Cooking, a recipe product; Games, a puzzle games product; and Audio, an audio product. In addition, it offers a portfolio of advertising products and services to advertisers, such as luxury goods, technology, and financial companies, to promote products, services or brands on digital platforms in the form of display ads, audio and video, in print in the form of column-inch ads, and at live events; and Wirecutter, a product review and recommendation product. Further, the company licenses content to digital aggregators in the business, professional, academic and library markets, and third-party digital platforms; articles, graphics, and photographs, including newspapers, magazines, and websites; and for use in television, films, and books, as well as provide rights to reprint articles, and create and sell new digests. Additionally, it engages in commercial printing and distribution for third parties; and operates the NYTimes.com website. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About MediaCo

MediaCo Holding Inc. owns and operates radio stations in the United States. The company engages in the operation of WQHT-FM and WBLS-FM radio stations in the New York City area. It also offers digital advertising, and events, which includes sponsorships, ticket sales, licensing, and syndication services. MediaCo Holding Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in New York, New York.