Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) & Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Critical Contrast

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

62.4% of Monarch Casino & Resort shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.6% of Norwegian Cruise Line shares are held by institutional investors. 26.3% of Monarch Casino & Resort shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Norwegian Cruise Line shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Monarch Casino & Resort has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Norwegian Cruise Line has a beta of 1.95, meaning that its share price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Monarch Casino & Resort and Norwegian Cruise Line, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Monarch Casino & Resort	0	4	2	1	2.57
Norwegian Cruise Line	0	16	6	1	2.35

Monarch Casino & Resort currently has a consensus price target of $124.40, indicating a potential upside of 9.60%. Norwegian Cruise Line has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.07%. Given Norwegian Cruise Line’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Norwegian Cruise Line is more favorable than Monarch Casino & Resort.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Monarch Casino & Resort and Norwegian Cruise Line”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Monarch Casino & Resort	$545.12 million	3.73	$101.39 million	$6.24	18.19
Norwegian Cruise Line	$9.83 billion	0.72	$423.25 million	$1.60	9.68

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

Profitability

This table compares Monarch Casino & Resort and Norwegian Cruise Line’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Monarch Casino & Resort	20.40%	20.63%	15.79%
Norwegian Cruise Line	7.49%	41.38%	4.21%

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

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.