Comparing ZW Data Action Technologies (NASDAQ:CNET) & USA Today (NYSE:TDAY)

USA Today (NYSE:TDAY) and ZW Data Action Technologies (NASDAQ:CNET) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

USA Today has a beta of 1.58, indicating that its share price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZW Data Action Technologies has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.7% of USA Today shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of ZW Data Action Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of USA Today shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.2% of ZW Data Action Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares USA Today and ZW Data Action Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
USA Today	0.08%	5.68%	0.54%
ZW Data Action Technologies	-33.25%	-59.11%	-21.51%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares USA Today and ZW Data Action Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
USA Today	$2.30 billion	0.43	$1.75 million	($0.11)	-60.91
ZW Data Action Technologies	$15.44 million	0.15	-$3.76 million	($0.74)	-0.95

USA Today has higher revenue and earnings than ZW Data Action Technologies. USA Today is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ZW Data Action Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for USA Today and ZW Data Action Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
USA Today	0	2	2	0	2.50
ZW Data Action Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00

USA Today currently has a consensus target price of $7.70, suggesting a potential upside of 14.93%. Given USA Today’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe USA Today is more favorable than ZW Data Action Technologies.

Summary

USA Today beats ZW Data Action Technologies on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About USA Today

Gannett Co Inc. invests in, owns, and operates local media assets in the United States. The company’s principal products include 125 daily newspapers with total paid circulation of approximately 1.4 million; 314 weekly newspapers with total paid circulation of approximately 315,000 and total free circulation of approximately 1.9 million; 124 shoppers with total circulation of approximately 3.0 million; and 538 locally-focused Websites, including Internet and mobile devices with approximately 224 million page views per month. Its principal products also comprise 2 yellow page directories with a total distribution of approximately 230,000 that cover a population of approximately 411,000 people; 68 business publications; and Propel digital marketing and business services. In addition, the company produces niche publications that address specific local market interests, such as recreation, sports, healthcare, and real estate. Further, it provides print and online products that offer local market news and information on various topics comprising local news and politics, community and regional events, youth sports, opinion and editorial pages, local schools, obituaries, weddings, and police reports, as well as print and digital advertising products, as well as commercial printing and regional business-oriented publications services. The company reaches approximately 20 million people per week; and serves approximately 220,000 business customers. New Media Investment Group Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in New York, New York.

About ZW Data Action Technologies

ZW Data Action Technologies Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers omni-channel advertising, precision marketing, and data analysis management systems in the People’s Republic of China. The company offers Internet advertising, precision marketing, and related data services to small and medium enterprises through its Internet portals, including 28.com and liansuo.com that provide advertisers with tools to build sales channels in the form of franchisees, sales agents, distributors, and/or resellers. It also develops and operates blockchain technology-based products and services, as well as blockchain-based SaaS services that provides one-stop blockchain-powered enterprise management solutions in forms of NFT generations, data record, share, and storage module subscriptions, etc. In addition, the company offers other e-commerce O2O advertising, and marketing and related value-added technical services. Additionally, it offers online-content production, distribution, promotion, and live streamer training and management services. The company was formerly known as ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to ZW Data Action Technologies Inc. in October 2020. Data Action Technologies Inc. was founded in 2003 and is based in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.