Critical Analysis: Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) & Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR)

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) and Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Shutterstock and Tuniu’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shutterstock	6.36%	18.42%	7.48%
Tuniu	5.82%	5.94%	3.12%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Shutterstock and Tuniu, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shutterstock	0	3	1	0	2.25
Tuniu	0	0	0	0	0.00

Shutterstock presently has a consensus target price of $43.67, suggesting a potential upside of 108.33%. Given Shutterstock’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Shutterstock is more favorable than Tuniu.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.8% of Shutterstock shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.0% of Shutterstock shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 76.1% of Tuniu shares 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.

Volatility & Risk

Shutterstock has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tuniu has a beta of 1.71, meaning that its share price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shutterstock	$935.26 million	0.79	$35.93 million	$1.81	11.58
Tuniu	$70.37 million	1.56	$10.57 million	$0.05	18.79

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

Dividends

Shutterstock pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Tuniu pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Shutterstock pays out 72.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Tuniu pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Shutterstock has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Shutterstock is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Shutterstock beats Tuniu on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shutterstock

Shutterstock, Inc. provides platform to connect brands and businesses to high quality content in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers image services consisting of photographs, vectors, and illustrations, which is used in visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications, and others; footage services, including video clips, filmed by industry experts and cinema grade video effects in HD and 4K formats that are integrated into websites, social media, marketing campaigns, and cinematic productions; and music services comprising music tracks and sound effects, which are used to complement images and footage. It also provides 3 dimensional models consisting of 3D models used in various industries, such as advertising, media and video production, gaming, retail, education, design, and architecture; and generative AI content comprising images generated from algorithms trained with ethically sourced content. The company offers its services under the Shutterstock, Pond5, TurboSquid, PicMonkey, PremiumBeat, Splash News, Bigstock, and Offset brand names. In addition, it operates a collection of graphics interchange format visuals and stickers that supplies casual conversational content. The company serves corporate professionals and organizations, media and broadcast companies, and small and medium-sized businesses, and individual creators through digital, live sales, and client management channels. Shutterstock, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Tuniu

Tuniu Corporation operates as an online leisure travel company in China. The company offers various packaged tours, including organized and self-guided tours; and other travel-related services, such as tourist attraction tickets, visa application services, accommodation reservation, financial services, and hotel booking services, as well as air, train, and bus ticketing for leisure travelers. It also provides car rental and insurance services, as well as advertising services to tourism boards and bureaus. The company offers its products and services through various online and offline channels, including tuniu.com website; mobile platform; a call center in Nanjing; and other offline retail stores in China. Tuniu Corporation was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Nanjing, the People's Republic of China.