Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD – Get Free Report) and Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK – Get Free Report) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Ziff Davis and Shutterstock”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ziff Davis | $1.45 billion | 1.33 | $47.35 million | $17.67 | 3.20 |
| Shutterstock | $989.92 million | 0.15 | $45.50 million | ($5.65) | -0.73 |
Risk & Volatility
Ziff Davis has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shutterstock has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
99.8% of Ziff Davis shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Shutterstock shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Ziff Davis shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.3% of Shutterstock shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Ziff Davis and Shutterstock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ziff Davis | 48.57% | 10.73% | 5.54% |
| Shutterstock | -22.87% | 13.61% | 5.49% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ziff Davis and Shutterstock, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ziff Davis | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Shutterstock | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Ziff Davis currently has a consensus target price of $59.75, indicating a potential upside of 5.81%. Shutterstock has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 69.70%. Given Shutterstock’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Shutterstock is more favorable than Ziff Davis.
Summary
Ziff Davis beats Shutterstock on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media and internet company in the United States and internationally. The company offers PCMag, an online resource for laboratory-based product reviews, technology news, buying guides, and research papers; Mashable for publishing technology and culture content; Spiceworks Ziff Davis provides digital content of IT products and services; retailMeNot, a savings destination platform; Offers.com, a coupon and deals website; and event-based properties, including BlackFriday.com, TheBlackFriday.com, BestBlackFriday.com, and DealsofAmerica.com. It also offers gaming and entertainment content under the IGN Entertainment and Humble Bundle brands; and information on internet connectivity under the Ookla, Ekahau, Downdetector, and RootMetrics brands. The company also offers digital content and information services for health and wellness consumers under the Everyday Health, DailyOM, Lose It!, Diabetes Daily, Castle Connolly, and Migraine Again brands; pregnancy and parenting content under the BabyCenter, Emma's Diary, and What to Expect brands; and Medpage Today that delivers medical news. In addition, the company offers PRIME Education, a medical education program for healthcare professionals; and Health eCareers, a digital portal for healthcare professionals. Further, it provides endpoint and email security, security awareness training, secure backup and file sharing, and virtual private network solutions under the IPVanish, VIPRE, Livedrive, Inspired eLearning, and SugarSync brands; and email marketing and delivery solutions, search engine optimization tools, and voice and text communication services under the Campaigner, iContact, SMTP, Kickbox, MOZ Pro, MOZ Local, Stat Analytics, eVoice, and Line2 brands. The company was formerly known as j2 Global, Inc. and changed its name to Ziff Davis, Inc. in October 2021. Ziff Davis, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
About Shutterstock
Shutterstock, Inc. provides platform to connect brands and businesses to high quality content in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers image services consisting of photographs, vectors, and illustrations, which is used in visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications, and others; footage services, including video clips, filmed by industry experts and cinema grade video effects in HD and 4K formats that are integrated into websites, social media, marketing campaigns, and cinematic productions; and music services comprising music tracks and sound effects, which are used to complement images and footage. It also provides 3 dimensional models consisting of 3D models used in various industries, such as advertising, media and video production, gaming, retail, education, design, and architecture; and generative AI content comprising images generated from algorithms trained with ethically sourced content. The company offers its services under the Shutterstock, Pond5, TurboSquid, PicMonkey, PremiumBeat, Splash News, Bigstock, and Offset brand names. In addition, it operates a collection of graphics interchange format visuals and stickers that supplies casual conversational content. The company serves corporate professionals and organizations, media and broadcast companies, and small and medium-sized businesses, and individual creators through digital, live sales, and client management channels. Shutterstock, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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