Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS) & Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Head-To-Head Contrast

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) and Harte Hanks (NASDAQ:HHS) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Gray Media and Harte Hanks”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gray Media	$3.10 billion	0.16	-$85.00 million	($0.61)	-7.97
Harte Hanks	$159.57 million	0.20	-$810,000.00	($0.76)	-5.63

Harte Hanks has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Gray Media. Gray Media is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Harte Hanks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Gray Media has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Harte Hanks has a beta of 0.09, indicating that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Gray Media and Harte Hanks, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gray Media	1	2	3	0	2.33
Harte Hanks	1	0	0	0	1.00

Gray Media currently has a consensus target price of $7.88, suggesting a potential upside of 61.97%. Given Gray Media’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Gray Media is more favorable than Harte Hanks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.6% of Gray Media shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.8% of Harte Hanks shares are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of Gray Media shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Harte Hanks shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Gray Media and Harte Hanks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gray Media	-0.83%	-1.12%	-0.23%
Harte Hanks	-3.70%	-30.14%	-6.30%

Summary

Gray Media beats Harte Hanks on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gray Media

Gray Television, Inc., a television broadcasting company, owns and/or operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. It also broadcasts secondary digital channels affiliated to ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as various other networks and program services, including CW Plus Network, MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, THE365, and Outlaw; and local news/weather channels in various markets. It owns and operates television stations and digital assets that serve television markets in the United States. The company was formerly known as Gray Communications Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Gray Television, Inc. in August 2002. Gray Television, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Harte Hanks

Harte-Hanks, Inc. engages in the provision of marketing solutions. It specializes in consulting, data analytics, creative services, digital and social media, marketing strategy, marketing technology, and other related services. It supports a range of customers in the field of technology, travel and leisure, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, automotive, finance, and retail. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in San Antonio, TX.