Contrasting ITV (OTCMKTS:ITVPY) and E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP)

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) and ITV (OTCMKTS:ITVPY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Dividends

E.W. Scripps pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. ITV pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. E.W. Scripps pays out -45.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for E.W. Scripps and ITV, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
E.W. Scripps	1	1	1	0	2.00
ITV	1	3	0	0	1.75

E.W. Scripps currently has a consensus target price of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 49.66%. Given E.W. Scripps’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe E.W. Scripps is more favorable than ITV.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.8% of E.W. Scripps shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.4% of ITV shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of E.W. Scripps shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of ITV shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

E.W. Scripps has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ITV has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares E.W. Scripps and ITV’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
E.W. Scripps	0.99%	9.82%	1.68%
ITV	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares E.W. Scripps and ITV”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
E.W. Scripps	$2.32 billion	0.14	$87.60 million	($0.44)	-8.35
ITV	$4.46 billion	0.93	$521.38 million	N/A	N/A

ITV has higher revenue and earnings than E.W. Scripps.

Summary

E.W. Scripps beats ITV on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About E.W. Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media enterprise through a portfolio of local television stations, national news, and entertainment networks in the United States. It operates through Local Media, Scripps Networks, and Other segments. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, which produce news, information, sports, and entertainment content, as well as its related digital operations; runs network, syndicated, and original programming, and local sporting events; and provides core and political advertising services. The Scripps Networks segment offers national television networks through free over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite, connected TV, and digital distribution. This segment also provides Scripp News, a national news network, which provides politics, entertainment, science, and technology news; Court TV, which showcases live trials; entertainment brands, such as Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, and Laff; and ION, a national network of broadcast stations and broadcast television spectrum, which distributes programming through Federal Communications Commission-licensed television stations, as well as affiliated TV stations through over-the-air broadcast and pay TV platforms. In addition, it provides content and services through digital platforms, including the Internet, smartphones, and tablets; Nuvyyo, which offers consumers DVR product solutions to watch and record free over-the-air HDTV on connected devices; and Scripps National Spelling Bee, which shows educational programs. The company serves audiences and businesses through cable and satellite service providers. The E.W. Scripps Company was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

About ITV

ITV plc, an integrated production, broadcasting, and streaming company, which creates, owns, and distributes content on various platforms worldwide. It operates through ITV Studios and Media & Entertainment segments. The ITV Studios segment creates and produces programs and formats that include sports, drama, entertainment, factual, and news for its own channels and other broadcasters. The segment also operates as an unscripted independent producer of content in the United States; and produces content for local broadcasters and international OTT platforms in Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. In addition, this segment engages in licensing its finished programmes, formats, and third-party content internationally, as well as finances productions. The Media & Entertainment segment broadcasts and streams various contents on its family of free-to-air TV channels; and offers television advertising services. The company also delivers content through linear television broadcasting, as well as on the ITV Hub, BritBox UK, ITVX, catch up services on pay platforms, and through direct content deals. In addition, this segment offers online advertising, HD digital channel on pay platform, and ITV Premium subscription services. The company was founded in 1955 is based in London, the United Kingdom.