Financial Review: Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) and Idw Media (OTCMKTS:IDWM)

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) and Idw Media (OTCMKTS:IDWM) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Gray Media and Idw Media’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gray Media	5.64%	10.31%	2.17%
Idw Media	-7.66%	-9.44%	-8.12%

Volatility and Risk

Gray Media has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Idw Media has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.6% of Gray Media shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Idw Media shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.2% of Gray Media shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.5% of Idw Media shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Gray Media and Idw Media, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gray Media	1	1	3	0	2.40
Idw Media	0	0	0	0	0.00

Gray Media currently has a consensus price target of $6.88, suggesting a potential upside of 50.70%. Given Gray Media’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Gray Media is more favorable than Idw Media.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Gray Media and Idw Media”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gray Media	$3.55 billion	0.13	$375.00 million	$1.51	3.02
Idw Media	$26.47 million	0.38	-$1.39 million	($217.98)	-0.16

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

Summary

Gray Media beats Idw Media on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gray Media

Gray Television, Inc., a television broadcasting company, owns and/or operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. It also broadcasts secondary digital channels affiliated to ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as various other networks and program services, including CW Plus Network, MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, THE365, and Outlaw; and local news/weather channels in various markets. It owns and operates television stations and digital assets that serve television markets in the United States. The company was formerly known as Gray Communications Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Gray Television, Inc. in August 2002. Gray Television, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Idw Media

IDW Media Holdings, Inc., a diversified media company, engages in the publishing and television entertainment businesses worldwide. It operates through IDW Publishing and IDW Entertainment segments. The IDW Publishing segment publishes comic books, graphic novels, and digital content through its imprints IDW, Top Shelf Productions, and Artist’s Editions. The IDW Entertainment segment develops, produces, and distributes content in various formats, including film and television. The company was formerly known as CTM Media Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to IDW Media Holdings, Inc. in July 2015. IDW Media Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey.