Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE:STG) vs. Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Financial Analysis

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) and Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE:STG) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Autohome has a beta of 0.26, meaning that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sunlands Technology Group has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Autohome and Sunlands Technology Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autohome	$922.63 million	2.32	$225.19 million	$1.64	11.34
Sunlands Technology Group	$288.84 million	0.15	$52.28 million	$3.80	0.82

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

Profitability

This table compares Autohome and Sunlands Technology Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autohome	21.43%	5.94%	4.75%
Sunlands Technology Group	18.06%	44.02%	17.28%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.1% of Autohome shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.4% of Sunlands Technology Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Autohome shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 59.7% of Sunlands Technology Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Autohome and Sunlands Technology Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autohome	1	3	0	0	1.75
Sunlands Technology Group	1	0	0	0	1.00

Autohome presently has a consensus target price of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 50.58%. Given Autohome’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Autohome is more favorable than Sunlands Technology Group.

Summary

Autohome beats Sunlands Technology Group on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc. operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People’s Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps. It provides media services, including automaker advertising services and regional marketing campaigns; and leads generation services comprising dealer subscription services, advertising services for individual dealers, and used automobile listing and other platform-based services. The company offers Autohome Mall, an online transaction platform; and online bidding platform for used automobiles, as well as collects commissions for facilitating transactions of auto-financing and insurance products on its platform. The company was formerly known as Sequel Limited and changed its name to Autohome Inc. in October 2011. Autohome Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.

About Sunlands Technology Group

Sunlands Technology Group, through its subsidiaries, provides online education services through online and mobile platforms in the People's Republic of China. It offers various degree- and diploma-oriented post-secondary courses, including preparation courses for the self-taught higher education examination (STE) for learners pursuing associate diplomas or bachelor's degrees, as well as for the entrance examinations of Master of Business Administration programs. The company's STE courses include Chinese language and literature, law, pre-school education, marketing, English, human resource management, business administration, business management, modern corporate governance, financial management, advertising, accounting, administrative management, computer information management, finance, chain operation management, and visual communication and design and production. It also provides professional certification preparation courses in various industries and professions, such as accounting, human resources, teaching, and finance. In addition, the company offers education services through online and mobile platforms to adult students, pursuing post-secondary, and professional educations. The company was formerly known as Sunlands Online Education Group and changed its name to Sunlands Technology Group in August 2018. Sunlands Technology Group was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.