Comparing New York Times (NYSE:NYT) & Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI)

Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) and New York Times (NYSE:NYT) are both communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Perion Network and New York Times”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Perion Network	$439.93 million	1.01	-$7.93 million	($0.35)	-32.53
New York Times	$2.82 billion	4.13	$343.98 million	$2.50	28.92

New York Times has higher revenue and earnings than Perion Network. Perion Network 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.

Risk & Volatility

Perion Network has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, New York Times has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Perion Network	-2.95%	2.43%	1.81%
New York Times	13.41%	23.06%	15.82%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

68.1% of Perion Network shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.4% of New York Times shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Perion Network shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of New York Times shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Perion Network and New York Times, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Perion Network	1	3	3	0	2.29
New York Times	0	5	5	1	2.64

Perion Network currently has a consensus price target of $13.30, indicating a potential upside of 16.82%. New York Times has a consensus price target of $82.80, indicating a potential upside of 14.51%. Given Perion Network’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Perion Network is more favorable than New York Times.

Summary

New York Times beats Perion Network on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Perion Network

Perion Network Ltd. is an Israeli advertising technology company that develops platforms and services for advertisers and publishers. Its solutions support digital advertising across channels including display, video, connected TV, social media and search. The company’s technology helps advertisers plan and deliver campaigns, while enabling publishers to manage and monetize advertising inventory. Perion serves customers in international markets. Founded in 1999, the company was originally known as IncrediMail Ltd. and adopted the Perion Network name in 2011.

About New York Times

The New York Times Company is a media organization best known for publishing The New York Times, a newspaper founded in 1851. Based in New York City, the company produces journalism on U.S. and international news, politics, business, culture, science and other subjects. Its offerings include print and digital news, games, cooking content, product reviews through Wirecutter, and sports journalism through The Athletic. The company serves readers in the United States and around the world through its digital platforms and print publications.