Reviewing Marcus (NYSE:MCS) & Carnival (NYSE:CUK)

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) and Carnival (NYSE:CUK) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Marcus has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carnival has a beta of 2.79, indicating that its share price is 179% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Marcus and Carnival’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marcus	1.91%	4.28%	1.88%
Carnival	9.72%	27.88%	5.20%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Marcus and Carnival”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marcus	$735.56 million	0.64	-$7.79 million	$0.45	33.58
Carnival	$25.02 billion	0.20	$1.92 billion	$1.85	14.71

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Marcus and Carnival, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marcus	0	0	3	1	3.25
Carnival	0	0	0	0	0.00

Marcus presently has a consensus target price of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 62.12%. Given Marcus’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Marcus is more favorable than Carnival.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

81.6% of Marcus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.8% of Carnival shares are held by institutional investors. 15.8% of Marcus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Carnival shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Marcus beats Carnival on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marcus

The Marcus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates movie theatres, and hotels and resorts in the United States. It operates a family entertainment center and multiscreen motion picture theatres under the Big Screen Bistro, Big Screen Bistro Express, BistroPlex, and Movie Tavern by Marcus brand names. The company also owns and operates full-service hotels and resorts, as well as manages full-service hotels, resorts, and other properties. In addition, it provides hospitality management services, including check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for a vacation ownership development; and manages condominium hotels under long-term management contracts. The Marcus Corporation was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Carnival

Carnival Plc operates as a global cruise and vacation company. The firm offers holiday and vacation products to a customer base that is broadly varied in terms of cultures, languages and leisure-time preferences. It operates through the North America and Australia (NAA), Europe and Asia (EA), Cruise Support, and Tour and Other segments. The NAA segment includes Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, P and O Cruises (Australia), Princess and Seabourn. The EA segment includes AIDA, Costa, Cunard, and P and O Cruises (UK). The Cruise Support segment includes a portfolio of port destinations and other services, all of which are operated for the benefit of cruise brands. The Tour and Other segment represents the hotel and transportation operations of Holland America Princess Alaska Tours and other operations. The company was founded on July 19, 2000 and is headquartered in Southampton, the United Kingdom.