Comparing Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) & Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) are both large-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Echostar and Comcast, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Echostar	1	0	7	2	3.00
Comcast	6	12	11	0	2.17

Echostar currently has a consensus target price of $138.56, indicating a potential upside of 61.51%. Comcast has a consensus target price of $30.69, indicating a potential upside of 34.38%. Given Echostar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Echostar is more favorable than Comcast.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Echostar and Comcast”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Echostar	$15.00 billion	1.66	-$14.50 billion	($24.92)	-3.44
Comcast	$123.71 billion	0.66	$20.00 billion	$3.09	7.39

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

Profitability

This table compares Echostar and Comcast’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Echostar	-38.71%	-1.28%	-0.25%
Comcast	8.97%	14.77%	5.18%

Volatility & Risk

Echostar has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comcast has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.6% of Echostar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.3% of Comcast shares are owned by institutional investors. 54.6% of Echostar shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Comcast shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Comcast beats Echostar on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Echostar

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Hughes and EchoStar Satellite Services (ESS). The Hughes segment offers broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services, and communications solutions to government and enterprise customers. The segment also designs, provides, and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, it designs, develops, constructs, and provides telecommunication networks comprising satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators and enterprise customers. Further, this segment designs, provides, and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems, as well as offers satellite ground segment systems and terminals for other satellite systems, including mobile system operators. The ESS segment provides satellite services using its owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses to offer satellite services on a full-time and/or occasional-use basis to the U.S. government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, content providers, and private enterprise customers. It serves customers in North America, South and Central America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, India, and the Middle East. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising. The Business Services Connectivity segment offers connectivity services for small business locations, which include broadband, wireline voice, and wireless services, as well as solutions for medium-sized customers and larger enterprises; and small business connectivity services in the United Kingdom. The Media segment operates NBCUniversal's television and streaming business, including national and regional cable networks; the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks and owned local broadcast television stations; and Peacock, a direct-to-consumer streaming services. It also operates international television networks comprising the Sky Sports networks, as well as other digital properties. The Studios segment operates NBCUniversal and Sky film and television studio production and distribution operations. The Theme Parks segment operates Universal theme parks in Orlando, Florida; Hollywood, California; Osaka, Japan; and Beijing, China. The company also offers a consolidated streaming platforms under the Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Xumo. Comcast Corporation was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.