CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI – Get Free Report) and News (NASDAQ:NWS – Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.
Risk and Volatility
CuriosityStream has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, News has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares CuriosityStream and News”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CuriosityStream | $51.13 million | 6.47 | -$12.94 million | ($0.14) | -41.00 |
| News | $10.09 billion | 1.89 | $266.00 million | $0.86 | 39.07 |
News has higher revenue and earnings than CuriosityStream. CuriosityStream is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than News, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for CuriosityStream and News, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CuriosityStream | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
| News | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.00 |
CuriosityStream presently has a consensus price target of $5.40, suggesting a potential downside of 5.92%. Given CuriosityStream’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe CuriosityStream is more favorable than News.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
6.8% of CuriosityStream shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.6% of News shares are owned by institutional investors. 49.6% of CuriosityStream shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of News shares are owned 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.
Profitability
This table compares CuriosityStream and News’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CuriosityStream | -13.99% | -12.49% | -8.67% |
| News | 5.18% | 5.64% | 3.09% |
Dividends
CuriosityStream pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. News pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. CuriosityStream pays out -228.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. News pays out 23.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. CuriosityStream has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CuriosityStream is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
News beats CuriosityStream on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About CuriosityStream
CuriosityStream Inc. operates as a factual content streaming service and media company. The company provides premium video and audio programming services in various categories of factual entertainment, including science, history, society, nature, lifestyle, and technology through direct subscription video on-demand (SVoD) platforms accessible by internet connected devices, or indirectly via distribution partners who deliver CuriosityStream content via distributor's platform or system, as well as through bundled content licenses for SVoD and linear offerings, talks and courses, and partner bulk sales. It offers streaming content through devices, including televisions, set-top boxes, computers, streaming media players, game consoles, and mobile devices. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland.
About News
News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other. The company distributes content and data products, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Investor’s Business Daily, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Newswires, and Dow Jones Energy through various media channels, such as newspapers, newswires, websites, mobile apps, newsletters, magazines, proprietary databases, live journalism, video, and podcasts. It also owns and operates Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday, weekly, and bi-weekly newspapers comprising The Australian, The Weekend Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Herald Sun, Sunday Herald Sun, The Courier Mail, The Sunday Mail, The Advertiser, Sunday Mail, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday, The Times, The Sunday Times, and New York Post, as well as digital mastheads and other websites. In addition, the company publishes general fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and religious books; provides sports, entertainment, and news services to pay-TV and streaming subscribers, and other commercial licensees through satellite and internet distribution; and broadcasts rights to live sporting events. Further, it offers property and property-related advertising and services on its websites and mobile applications; digital real estate services; and financial services. News Corporation was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
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