Carnival (NYSE:CCL) & Bally’s (NYSE:BALY) Financial Review

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) and Bally’s (NYSE:BALY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Carnival and Bally’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carnival	11.24%	26.11%	6.36%
Bally’s	-25.83%	-40.97%	-7.66%

Risk & Volatility

Carnival has a beta of 2.31, meaning that its share price is 131% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bally’s has a beta of 1.77, meaning that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Carnival and Bally’s, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carnival	0	5	21	1	2.85
Bally’s	2	3	0	0	1.60

Carnival presently has a consensus price target of $35.08, suggesting a potential upside of 47.99%. Bally’s has a consensus price target of $11.75, suggesting a potential upside of 18.21%. Given Carnival’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Carnival is more favorable than Bally’s.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

67.2% of Carnival shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.4% of Bally’s shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.9% of Carnival shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 69.3% of Bally’s shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Carnival and Bally’s”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carnival	$27.31 billion	1.19	$2.76 billion	$2.22	10.68
Bally’s	$2.45 billion	0.20	-$701.10 million	($6.80)	-1.46

Carnival has higher revenue and earnings than Bally’s. Bally’s is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carnival, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Carnival beats Bally’s on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Carnival

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn. The Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations segment consists of AIDA, Costa, Cunard, and P&O Cruises (UK). The Cruise Support segment represents port destinations and private islands for the benefit of its cruise brands. The Tour and Other segment operates hotel and transportation operations of Holland America Princess Alaska Tours. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Miami, FL.

About Bally’s

Bally’s Corp. is a global casino-entertainment company with a portfolio of casinos and resorts and online gaming businesses. It operates through the following segments: Casinos & Resorts, International Interactive, and North America Interactive. The Casinos & Resorts segment consists of the company’s casino and resort properties, a horse racetrack, and a golf course. The International Interactive segment includes the European and Asian operations of Gamesys, a business-to-consumer iCasino operator. The North America Interactive segment covers a portfolio of sports betting, iGaming, and free-to-play gaming brands such as Bally’s Interactive, SportCaller, and Live at the Bike, and the North American operations of Gamesys. The company was founded on March 1, 2004 and is headquartered in Providence, RI.