Contrasting Viking (NYSE:VIK) & Marcus (NYSE:MCS)

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) and Viking (NYSE:VIK) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Marcus and Viking”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marcus	$735.56 million	0.64	-$7.79 million	$0.24	63.60
Viking	$5.33 billion	6.00	$152.33 million	$2.14	33.75

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

Profitability

This table compares Marcus and Viking’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marcus	1.02%	1.71%	0.76%
Viking	15.53%	716.92%	9.82%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

81.6% of Marcus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Viking shares are held by institutional investors. 15.8% of Marcus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Marcus and Viking, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marcus	0	2	3	1	2.83
Viking	1	5	11	0	2.59

Marcus currently has a consensus price target of $23.75, suggesting a potential upside of 55.59%. Viking has a consensus price target of $66.00, suggesting a potential downside of 8.61%. Given Marcus’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Marcus is more favorable than Viking.

Volatility and Risk

Marcus has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viking has a beta of 2.07, meaning that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Viking beats Marcus on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marcus

The Marcus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates movie theatres, and hotels and resorts in the United States. It operates a family entertainment center and multiscreen motion picture theatres under the Big Screen Bistro, Big Screen Bistro Express, BistroPlex, and Movie Tavern by Marcus brand names. The company also owns and operates full-service hotels and resorts, as well as manages full-service hotels, resorts, and other properties. In addition, it provides hospitality management services, including check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for a vacation ownership development; and manages condominium hotels under long-term management contracts. The Marcus Corporation was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Viking

Viking Holdings Ltd engages in the passenger shipping and other forms of passenger transport in North America, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through River and Ocean segments. The company also operates as a tour entrepreneur for passengers and related activities in tourism. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 92 ships, including 81 river vessels comprising 58 Longships, 10 smaller classes based on the Longship design, 11 other river vessels, and 1 river vessel charter and the Viking Mississippi; 9 ocean ships; and 2 expedition ships. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.