Comparing TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT) and National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI)

TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT) and National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for TechTarget and National CineMedia, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TechTarget	1	1	4	0	2.50
National CineMedia	0	2	3	0	2.60

TechTarget currently has a consensus target price of $16.40, suggesting a potential upside of 163.67%. National CineMedia has a consensus target price of $6.90, suggesting a potential upside of 54.02%. Given TechTarget’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe TechTarget is more favorable than National CineMedia.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.5% of TechTarget shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.5% of National CineMedia shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of TechTarget shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of National CineMedia shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares TechTarget and National CineMedia”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TechTarget	$284.90 million	1.56	-$116.86 million	($0.42)	-14.81
National CineMedia	$240.80 million	1.74	-$22.30 million	($0.21)	-21.33

National CineMedia has lower revenue, but higher earnings than TechTarget. National CineMedia is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TechTarget, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

TechTarget has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National CineMedia has a beta of 2.14, indicating that its share price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares TechTarget and National CineMedia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TechTarget	-252.96%	-21.56%	-13.65%
National CineMedia	-8.62%	-3.51%	-2.58%

Summary

National CineMedia beats TechTarget on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TechTarget

TechTarget, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides marketing and sales services that deliver business impact for business-to-business technology companies in North America and internationally. The company's service enables technology vendors to identify, reach, and influence corporate information technology (IT) decision-makers actively researching specific IT purchases; and customized marketing programs that integrate demand generation, brand advertising techniques, and content curation and creation. It offers business to business services, such as IT Deal Alert, a suite of data, software, and services comprising Priority Engine and Qualified Sales Opportunities to identify and prioritize accounts and individuals actively researching new technology purchases or upgrades; demand solutions provides marketing programs, including white papers, webcasts, podcasts, videocasts, virtual trade shows, and content sponsorships; brand solutions which includes on-network banner advertising and digital sponsorships, off-network banner targeting, and microsites and related formats; custom content creation that delivers market insights and guidance to technology companies and off-the-shelf editorial sponsorship products on topics aligned to customer markets; and BrightTALK platform which allows customers to create, host and promote webinars, virtual events, and video content. In addition, the company operates websites, webinars, and virtual event channels that focus on a specific IT sector, such as storage, security, or networking; and enables registered members to conduct their pre-purchase research by accessing vendor supplied content through its virtual event and webinar channels, and website networks. TechTarget, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc., through its subsidiary, National CineMedia, LLC, operates cinema advertising network in North America. It engages in the sale of advertising to national, regional, and local businesses in Noovie, a cinema advertising and entertainment show seen on movie screens; and sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network, a series of strategically-placed screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies. The company also sells online and mobile advertising through its Noovie Audience Accelerator product across a suite of Noovie digital properties, such as Name That Movie and Noovie Trivia app to reach entertainment audiences beyond the theater. It offers its services to third-party theater circuits under long-term network affiliate agreements. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.