Comparing Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) & Reading International (NASDAQ:RDI)

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) and Reading International (NASDAQ:RDI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.6% of Norwegian Cruise Line shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.7% of Reading International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Norwegian Cruise Line shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 32.4% of Reading International shares are held 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.

Risk & Volatility

Norwegian Cruise Line has a beta of 1.92, meaning that its share price is 92% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Reading International has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Norwegian Cruise Line and Reading International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norwegian Cruise Line	0	11	8	1	2.50
Reading International	1	0	0	0	1.00

Norwegian Cruise Line currently has a consensus target price of $24.76, suggesting a potential upside of 31.71%. Given Norwegian Cruise Line’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Norwegian Cruise Line is more favorable than Reading International.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Norwegian Cruise Line and Reading International”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norwegian Cruise Line	$9.83 billion	0.87	$423.25 million	$0.87	21.61
Reading International	$202.99 million	0.12	-$14.14 million	($0.62)	-1.77

Norwegian Cruise Line has higher revenue and earnings than Reading International. Reading International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Norwegian Cruise Line, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Norwegian Cruise Line and Reading International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norwegian Cruise Line	4.31%	50.05%	4.22%
Reading International	-6.96%	N/A	-3.23%

Summary

Norwegian Cruise Line beats Reading International on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean. It distributes its products through retail/travel advisor and onboard cruise sales channels, as well as meetings, incentives, and charters. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. was founded in 1966 and is based in Miami, Florida.

About Reading International

Reading International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, focuses on the ownership, development, and operation of entertainment and real property assets in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The company operates in two segments, Cinema Exhibition and Real Estate. The Cinema Exhibition segment operates multiplex cinemas. This segment operates its cinema exhibition businesses under the Reading Cinemas, Consolidated Theatres, Angelika Film Center, State Cinema by Angelika, Angelika Anywhere, Event Cinemas, and Rialto Cinemas brands. The Real Estate segment develops, rents, or licenses retail, commercial, and live theater assets. Reading International, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, New York.