Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) versus Phoenix New Media (NYSE:FENG) Critical Survey

Phoenix New Media (NYSE:FENG) and Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Phoenix New Media has a beta of -0.25, suggesting that its stock price is 125% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Townsquare Media has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Phoenix New Media and Townsquare Media”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Phoenix New Media	$109.47 million	0.20	-$7.45 million	$0.02	91.05
Townsquare Media	$450.98 million	0.26	-$10.93 million	$1.03	6.85

Phoenix New Media has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Townsquare Media. Townsquare Media is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Phoenix New Media, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Phoenix New Media and Townsquare Media, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Phoenix New Media	1	0	0	0	1.00
Townsquare Media	1	0	2	0	2.33

Townsquare Media has a consensus price target of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 133.71%. Given Townsquare Media’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Townsquare Media is more favorable than Phoenix New Media.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

6.3% of Phoenix New Media shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.7% of Townsquare Media shares are held by institutional investors. 10.9% of Phoenix New Media shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 30.5% of Townsquare Media shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Phoenix New Media and Townsquare Media’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Phoenix New Media	0.25%	0.18%	0.12%
Townsquare Media	4.27%	-47.95%	2.52%

Summary

Townsquare Media beats Phoenix New Media on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Phoenix New Media

Phoenix New Media Limited provides content on an integrated Internet platform in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through two segments, Net Advertising Services and Paid Services. It offers content and services through PC channel, mobile channel, and telecom operators, as well as transmits content to TV viewers, primarily through Phoenix TV. The company, through its website, ifeng.com, provides various interest-based content verticals, such as news, finance, video, automobiles, technology, entertainment, military, real estate, fashion, and sport; and offers interactive services, including comments posting and user surveys. Its mobile channel consists of ifeng News, a news application that provides newsfeeds and other contents in the form of text, image, live streaming, and video; ifeng Video, a video application, which offers video news, live broadcasting, Phoenix TV programs content, etc.; i.ifeng.com mobile Internet website; and digital reading applications. In addition, Phoenix New Media Limited offers mobile newspaper, mobile video, and mobile game services, as well as wireless value-added services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. Phoenix New Media Limited is a subsidiary of Phoenix Satellite Television (B.V.I.) Holding Limited.

About Townsquare Media

Townsquare Media, Inc. operates as a digital media and marketing solutions company in small and medium-sized businesses. It operates through three segments: Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions, Digital Advertising, and Broadcast Advertising. The Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions segment offers website design, creation, and development, as well as hosting services; and search engine optimization, online directory optimization, e-commerce solutions, online reputation monitoring, social media management, appointment scheduling, payment and invoice, customer management, and email and SMS marketing services. The Digital Advertising segment provides digital advertising on its owned and operated, digital programmatic advertising, and data analytics and management platform. The Broadcast Advertising segment engages in the sale of advertising on local radio stations to local, regional, and national spot advertisers, as well as national network advertisers. It also owns and operates live events, including concerts, expositions, and other experiential events; and operates local media under the WYRK.com, WJON.com, and NJ101.5.com brands, as well as national music under the XXLmag.com, TasteofCountry.com, UltimateClassicRock.com, and Loudwire.com brands. The company was formerly known as Regent Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Townsquare Media, Inc. in May 2010. Townsquare Media, Inc. is headquartered in Purchase, New York.