Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) & PlayAGS (NYSE:AGS) Head-To-Head Review

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) and PlayAGS (NYSE:AGS) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Electronic Arts has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PlayAGS has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Electronic Arts and PlayAGS, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Electronic Arts	0	14	9	2	2.52
PlayAGS	0	1	0	0	2.00

Electronic Arts presently has a consensus price target of $162.71, suggesting a potential upside of 9.32%. PlayAGS has a consensus price target of $12.50, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Given Electronic Arts’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Electronic Arts is more favorable than PlayAGS.

Profitability

This table compares Electronic Arts and PlayAGS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Electronic Arts	15.02%	18.73%	10.37%
PlayAGS	12.83%	54.56%	7.35%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Electronic Arts and PlayAGS”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Electronic Arts	$7.46 billion	5.01	$1.12 billion	$4.24	35.10
PlayAGS	$394.86 million	1.31	$51.65 million	$1.17	10.68

Electronic Arts has higher revenue and earnings than PlayAGS. PlayAGS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Electronic Arts, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

90.2% of Electronic Arts shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.4% of PlayAGS shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Electronic Arts shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of PlayAGS shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Electronic Arts beats PlayAGS on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands. The company licenses its games to third parties to distribute and host its games. It markets and sells its games and services through digital distribution and retail channels, as well as directly to mass market retailers, specialty stores, and distribution arrangements. Electronic Arts Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

About PlayAGS

AGS is a global company focused on creating a diverse mix of entertaining gaming experiences for every kind of player. Their roots are firmly planted in the Class II Native American gaming market, but their customer-centric culture and growth have helped them branch out to become a leading all-inclusive commercial gaming supplier. Powered by high-performing Class II and Class III slot products, an expansive table products portfolio, highly rated social casino solutions for players and operators, and best-in-class service, they offer an unmatched value proposition for their casino partners.