MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) versus FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Financial Comparison

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) and MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares FactSet Research Systems and MarketWise’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FactSet Research Systems	21.54%	31.66%	15.73%
MarketWise	0.70%	-0.96%	1.10%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for FactSet Research Systems and MarketWise, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FactSet Research Systems	6	10	2	1	1.89
MarketWise	0	1	1	0	2.50

FactSet Research Systems currently has a consensus target price of $271.79, suggesting a potential downside of 18.33%. Given FactSet Research Systems’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe FactSet Research Systems is more favorable than MarketWise.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares FactSet Research Systems and MarketWise”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FactSet Research Systems	$2.48 billion	4.74	$533.48 million	$14.56	22.86
MarketWise	$328.12 million	1.00	$5.62 million	$0.88	23.69

FactSet Research Systems has higher revenue and earnings than MarketWise. FactSet Research Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MarketWise, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

FactSet Research Systems has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MarketWise has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.2% of FactSet Research Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.0% of MarketWise shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of FactSet Research Systems shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.9% of MarketWise shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

FactSet Research Systems pays an annual dividend of $4.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. MarketWise pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. FactSet Research Systems pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MarketWise pays out 113.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. FactSet Research Systems has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years and MarketWise has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

FactSet Research Systems beats MarketWise on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc., a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth. It serves portfolio managers, investment banks, asset managers, wealth advisors, corporate clients, and other financial services entities. FactSet Research Systems Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.

About MarketWise

MarketWise, Inc. operates a content and technology multi-brand platform for self-directed investors in the United States and Internationally. Its platform includes subscription businesses that provides financial research, software, education, and tools to navigate the financial markets. The company offers various investment strategies, such as value investing, income, growth, commodities, cryptocurrencies, venture, crowdfunded investing, biotechnology, mutual funds, options, and trading; investment research product portfolio through a range of media, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile; and financial newsletters. It provides a suite of stock research tools and portfolio management services under the Chaikin Analytics brand; portfolio management software tools under the TradeSmith brand name; and database of accounting-based financial summaries under the Altimetry brand. In addition, the company develops screeners, monitors, portfolio management tools, and proprietary indicators that produce a composite score to rank publicly traded companies. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.