Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) vs. Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Critical Survey

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) and Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Warner Bros. Discovery and Gray Media, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Warner Bros. Discovery	1	11	11	1	2.50
Gray Media	1	1	3	1	2.67

Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus target price of $24.94, suggesting a potential downside of 8.82%. Gray Media has a consensus target price of $7.25, suggesting a potential upside of 66.28%. Given Gray Media’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Gray Media is more favorable than Warner Bros. Discovery.

Profitability

This table compares Warner Bros. Discovery and Gray Media’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Warner Bros. Discovery	1.28%	1.34%	0.47%
Gray Media	2.81%	5.50%	1.17%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

60.0% of Warner Bros. Discovery shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Gray Media shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Warner Bros. Discovery shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Gray Media shares are held by company 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Warner Bros. Discovery and Gray Media”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Warner Bros. Discovery	$39.32 billion	1.72	-$11.31 billion	$0.19	143.95
Gray Media	$3.64 billion	0.12	$375.00 million	$0.41	10.63

Gray Media has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Warner Bros. Discovery. Gray Media is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Warner Bros. Discovery, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Warner Bros. Discovery has a beta of 1.64, meaning that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gray Media has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Gray Media beats Warner Bros. Discovery on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming. The Network segment comprises domestic and international television networks. The DTC segment offers premium pay-tv and streaming services. In addition, the company offers portfolio of content, brands, and franchises across television, film, streaming, and gaming under the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, DC, HBO, HBO Max, Max, Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, HGTV, Food Network, TNT Sports, TBS, TLC, OWN, Warner Bros. Games, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, Game of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings brands. Further, it provides content through distribution platforms, including linear network, free-to-air, and broadcast television; authenticated GO applications, digital distribution arrangements, content licensing arrangements, and direct-to-consumer subscription products. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Gray Media

Gray Television, Inc., a television broadcasting company, owns and/or operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. It also broadcasts secondary digital channels affiliated to ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as various other networks and program services, including CW Plus Network, MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, THE365, and Outlaw; and local news/weather channels in various markets. It owns and operates television stations and digital assets that serve television markets in the United States. The company was formerly known as Gray Communications Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Gray Television, Inc. in August 2002. Gray Television, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.