Echostar (NASDAQ:ECHO – Get Free Report) and Educational Development (NASDAQ:EDUC – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.
Volatility and Risk
Echostar has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Educational Development has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Echostar and Educational Development”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Echostar | $15.00 billion | 1.82 | -$14.50 billion | ($24.92) | -3.78 |
| Educational Development | $22.91 million | 0.48 | $2.33 million | $0.23 | 5.65 |
Educational Development has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Echostar. Echostar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Educational Development, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Echostar and Educational Development’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Echostar | -38.71% | -1.28% | -0.25% |
| Educational Development | 9.75% | -18.23% | -12.73% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
33.6% of Echostar shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.6% of Educational Development shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Echostar shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of Educational Development shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Echostar and Educational Development, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Echostar | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2.78 |
| Educational Development | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Echostar currently has a consensus target price of $137.88, indicating a potential upside of 46.55%. Given Echostar’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Echostar is more favorable than Educational Development.
Summary
Echostar beats Educational Development on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Echostar
EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Hughes and EchoStar Satellite Services (ESS). The Hughes segment offers broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services, and communications solutions to government and enterprise customers. The segment also designs, provides, and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, it designs, develops, constructs, and provides telecommunication networks comprising satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators and enterprise customers. Further, this segment designs, provides, and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems, as well as offers satellite ground segment systems and terminals for other satellite systems, including mobile system operators. The ESS segment provides satellite services using its owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses to offer satellite services on a full-time and/or occasional-use basis to the U.S. government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, content providers, and private enterprise customers. It serves customers in North America, South and Central America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, India, and the Middle East. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.
About Educational Development
Educational Development Corporation, a publishing company, operates as a publisher of educational children's books in the United States. It operates through two segments, PaperPie and Publishing. The company offers various books, including touchy-feely board books, activity books and flashcards, adventure and search books, art books, sticker books, and foreign language books, as well as internet-linked books comprising science and math titles, and chapter books and novels. It markets its products to retail accounts, which include book, school supply, toy and gift stores and museums, through commissioned sales representatives, trade and specialty wholesalers, and its internal tele-sales group; and through a network of independent sales consultants through internet sales, direct sales, home shows, and book fairs. Educational Development Corporation was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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