Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Head-To-Head Survey

Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

64.7% of Six Flags Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.6% of Norwegian Cruise Line shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Six Flags Entertainment shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Norwegian Cruise Line 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.

Risk and Volatility

Six Flags Entertainment has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Norwegian Cruise Line has a beta of 2.07, suggesting that its share price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Six Flags Entertainment and Norwegian Cruise Line”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Six Flags Entertainment	$2.71 billion	0.66	-$231.16 million	($17.72)	-1.00
Norwegian Cruise Line	$9.48 billion	1.00	$910.26 million	$1.36	15.30

Norwegian Cruise Line has higher revenue and earnings than Six Flags Entertainment. Six Flags Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Norwegian Cruise Line, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Six Flags Entertainment and Norwegian Cruise Line’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Six Flags Entertainment	-56.44%	9.64%	1.70%
Norwegian Cruise Line	6.85%	55.51%	4.31%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Six Flags Entertainment and Norwegian Cruise Line, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Six Flags Entertainment	2	4	9	0	2.47
Norwegian Cruise Line	0	10	11	2	2.65

Six Flags Entertainment currently has a consensus price target of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 55.63%. Norwegian Cruise Line has a consensus price target of $27.05, indicating a potential upside of 30.00%. Given Six Flags Entertainment’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Six Flags Entertainment is more favorable than Norwegian Cruise Line.

Summary

Norwegian Cruise Line beats Six Flags Entertainment on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Six Flags Entertainment

Cedar Fair, L.P. owns and operates amusement and water parks, as well as complementary resort facilities. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California's Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Michigan's Adventure situated near Muskegon, Michigan; Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas; and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston in Galveston, Texas. The company also owns and operates the Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort, Hotel Breakers, Cedar Point's Express Hotel, and Sawmill Creek Resort. Cedar Fair, L.P. was founded in 1983 and is based in Sandusky, Ohio.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean. It distributes its products through retail/travel advisor and onboard cruise sales channels, as well as meetings, incentives, and charters. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. was founded in 1966 and is based in Miami, Florida.