Head to Head Review: Manchester United (MANU) and The Competition

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU – Get Rating) is one of 33 public companies in the “Amusement & recreation services” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Manchester United to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Manchester United and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Manchester United	$665.67 million	-$124.11 million	-9.64
Manchester United Competitors	$996.05 million	-$74.95 million	55.34

Manchester United’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Manchester United. Manchester United is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility and Risk

Manchester United has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manchester United’s rivals have a beta of -0.33, indicating that their average share price is 133% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Manchester United and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manchester United	0	0	1	0	3.00
Manchester United Competitors	73	273	384	10	2.45

Manchester United currently has a consensus price target of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 44.81%. As a group, “Amusement & recreation services” companies have a potential upside of 51.02%. Given Manchester United’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Manchester United has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares Manchester United and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manchester United	-27.73%	-25.52%	-4.69%
Manchester United Competitors	-2,737.81%	-1.13%	-206.04%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

33.1% of shares of all “Amusement & recreation services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 27.3% of shares of all “Amusement & recreation services” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Manchester United pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Manchester United pays out -14.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Amusement & recreation services” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.9% and pay out -373.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Manchester United lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

Manchester United rivals beat Manchester United on 9 of the 14 factors compared.

Manchester United Company Profile (Get Rating)

Manchester United plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a professional sports team in the United Kingdom. The company operates Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club. It develops marketing and sponsorship relationships with international and regional companies to leverage its brand. The company also markets and sells sports apparel, training and leisure wear, and other clothing featuring the Manchester United brand; and sells other licensed products, such as coffee mugs and bed spreads featuring the Manchester United brand and trademarks, as well as distributes these products through Manchester United branded retail centers and e-commerce platforms, and through the company's partners' wholesale distribution channels. In addition, it distributes live football content directly, as well as through commercial partners; broadcasts television rights relating to the Premier League, Union of European Football Associations club competitions, and other competitions; and delivers Manchester United programming through MUTV television channel to territories worldwide. Further, the company offers a direct to consumer subscription mobile application; and operates Old Trafford, a sports venue with 74,239 seats, as well as invests in properties. Manchester United plc was founded in 1878 and is based in Manchester, the United Kingdom.