Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE:STG) versus Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) Head to Head Contrast

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Volatility & Risk

Sunlands Technology Group has a beta of 1.03, suggesting that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autohome has a beta of 0.2, suggesting that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Sunlands Technology Group and Autohome, as reported by MarketBeat.

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

Autohome has a consensus price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 51.23%. Given Autohome’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Autohome is more favorable than Sunlands Technology Group.

Profitability

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

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

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sunlands Technology Group	$288.84 million	0.16	$52.28 million	$3.80	0.89
Autohome	$922.63 million	2.31	$225.19 million	$1.64	11.29

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.

Summary

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

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.

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.