Critical Comparison: Cable One (NYSE:CABO) & Creative Realities (NASDAQ:CREX)

Cable One (NYSE:CABO) and Creative Realities (NASDAQ:CREX) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.9% of Cable One shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.3% of Creative Realities shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Cable One shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.8% of Creative Realities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Cable One has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Creative Realities has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cable One and Creative Realities”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cable One	$1.50 billion	0.03	-$356.46 million	($185.06)	-0.04
Creative Realities	$57.23 million	0.51	-$8.28 million	($2.11)	-1.02

Creative Realities has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cable One. Creative Realities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cable One, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Cable One and Creative Realities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cable One	-72.83%	-3.97%	-0.86%
Creative Realities	-29.29%	-88.21%	-13.51%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Cable One and Creative Realities, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cable One	2	4	0	0	1.67
Creative Realities	1	1	2	0	2.25

Cable One currently has a consensus target price of $80.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,006.65%. Creative Realities has a consensus target price of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 272.09%. Given Cable One’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cable One is more favorable than Creative Realities.

Summary

Creative Realities beats Cable One on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cable One

Cable One, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides data, video, and voice services in the United States. The company offers residential data services, a service to enhance Wi-Fi signal throughout the home. It also provides various residential video services from basic video service to digital services with access to hundreds of channels; and provides a cloud-based DVR feature that does not require the use of a set-top boxes. In addition, the company offers Sparklight TV, an IPTV video service that allows customers to stream its video channels from the cloud through an app on supported devices, such as the Amazon Firestick, Apple TV, and Android-based smart televisions. Further, it provides data, voice, and video products to business customers, including small to mid-markets, enterprises, and wholesale and carrier customers. The company serves residential and business customers, comprising data, video, and voice services. Cable One, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Creative Realities

Creative Realities, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides digital marketing technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers digital signage and media solutions to enhance communications in a wide-ranging variety of out-of-home environments. The company’s solutions include digital merchandising systems and omni-channel customer engagement systems; interactive digital shopping assistants; advisors and kiosks; and other interactive marketing technologies, such as mobile, social media, point-of-sale transactions, beaconing, and web-based media that enables its customers to engage with their consumers. It also provides hardware system design/engineering, hardware installation, content development, content scheduling, post-deployment network and field support, and media sales, as well as media management and distribution software platforms and networks; device and product management; and customized software service layers, systems, experiences, workflows, and integrated solutions. The company sells its solutions to the automotive, retail, digital out of home comprising advertising networks and retail media networks, foodservice/quick-serve restaurants, financial services, gaming, and sports and entertainment venues. Creative Realities, Inc. is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.