Meta, Alphabet and 10 under-the-radar media -2-
Yelp Inc. YELP 31% $106 $344 78% 55% $2,909 Meta Platforms Inc. Class A META 47% $36,965 $78,129 717% 137% $634,547 Scholastic Corp. SCHL 54% $108 $201 319% 12% $1,314 Electronic Arts Inc. EA 73% $1,951 $2,678 605% -2% $32,425 World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Class A WWE 93% $415 $448 479% 66% $9,455 Activision Blizzard Inc. ATVI 93% $3,612 $3,891 2159% 21% $72,118 Source: FactSet
New York Times Co. (NYT) takes the prize, with no debt.
Wall Street's favorite media companies
Starting again with the 52 companies in the sector, 46 are covered by at least five analysts polled by FactSet. Among these companies, 12 are rated "buy" or the equivalent by at least 70% of the analysts:
Company Ticker Share "buy" ratings Aug. 25 price Consensus price target Implied 12-month upside potential Thryv Holdings Inc. THRY 100% $21.11 $35.50 68% T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS 90% $133.35 $174.96 31% Nexstar Media Group Inc. NXST 90% $157.08 $212.56 35% Meta Platforms Inc. Class A META 88% $285.50 $375.27 31% Cars.com Inc. CARS 86% $18.85 $23.79 26% Alphabet Inc. Class A GOOGL 82% $129.88 $150.04 16% Iridium Communications Inc. IRDM 80% $47.80 $66.00 38% News Corp. Class A NWSA 78% $20.74 $26.42 27% Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. TTWO 74% $141.42 $155.96 10% Live Nation Entertainment Inc. LYV 74% $84.79 $109.94 30% Frontier Communications Parent Inc. FYBR 73% $15.24 $31.36 106% Match Group Inc. MTCH 70% $43.79 $56.90 30% Source: FactSet
News Corp. (NWSA) is the parent company of MarketWatch.
Finally, here are the debt figures for these 12 media companies favored by the analysts:
Company Ticker Debt/ est. EBIT Total debt Est. EBIT Debt service ratio Total return -- 2023 Market cap. ($mil) Thryv Holdings Inc. THRY 227% $433 $191 53% 11% $730 T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS 378% $116,548 $30,838 32% -5% $156,881 Nexstar Media Group Inc. NXST 358% $7,183 $2,009 63% -8% $5,511 Meta Platforms Inc. Class A META 47% $36,965 $78,129 717% 137% $634,547 Cars.com Inc. CARS 223% $451 $202 41% 37% $1,253 Alphabet Inc. Class A GOOGL 22% $29,432 $133,096 711% 47% $1,528,711 Iridium Communications Inc. IRDM 306% $1,481 $483 54% -7% $5,977 News Corp. Class A NWSA 261% $4,207 $1,611 109% 15% $11,940 Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. TTWO 272% $3,492 $1,283 -40% 36% $24,017 Live Nation Entertainment Inc. LYV 466% $8,413 $1,805 135% 22% $19,515 Frontier Communications Parent Inc. FYBR 453% $9,844 $2,173 85% -40% $3,745 Match Group Inc. MTCH 287% $3,839 $1,337 540% 6% $12,177 Source: FactSet
In case you are wondering about how the analysts feel about debt-free New York Times, it appears the analysts believe the shares are fairly priced at $42.60. Among eight analysts polled by FactSet, three rated NYT a buy, while the rest had neutral ratings. The consensus price target was $43.93. The stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 27.7, which is high when compared with the forward P/E of 21.7 for the S&P 500 SPX.
-Emily Bary
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-02-23 0851ET
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.-
What’s Happening in the Markets This Week
-
Worst-Performing Stock ETFs of the Quarter
-
Q3 in Review and Q4 2024 Market Outlook
-
Top-Performing Stock ETFs of the Quarter
-
September Jobs Report Forecasts Show Moderate Hiring Gains
-
Port Strike a Headache for Shippers but a Potential Tailwind for Certain US Transport Stocks
-
13 Charts on Q3′s Roller-Coaster Rally for Stocks and Bonds
-
5 Stocks to Buy Instead of Overpriced US Equities
-
Consumer Defensives: Despite Angst, Thirsty Investors Have Names to Pursue
-
Industrials: Many Stocks Overvalued After Q3 Outperformance
-
Basic Materials: Despite Index Rise, We See Multiple Long-Term Opportunities
-
What the Election Could Mean for Big Tech Stocks
-
3 Lessons From Recent Stock Market Drama
-
Consumer Cyclicals: Even Amid Moderating Consumer Spending, We See Discounts
-
Healthcare: Valuations Look Fair Overall, With Select Industries Still Undervalued
-
Utilities: Falling Interest Rates, Growth Outlook Boosting Stocks