United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS – Get Free Report) and Madison Square Garden Sports (NYSE:MSGS – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.
Volatility & Risk
United Parks & Resorts has a beta of 2.01, meaning that its stock price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Madison Square Garden Sports has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares United Parks & Resorts and Madison Square Garden Sports’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| United Parks & Resorts | 14.06% | -92.07% | 9.26% |
| Madison Square Garden Sports | 5.72% | -18.69% | 4.30% |
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| United Parks & Resorts | $1.73 billion | 1.85 | $234.20 million | $3.72 | 13.78 |
| Madison Square Garden Sports | $1.03 billion | 4.84 | $58.77 million | $0.98 | 211.72 |
United Parks & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Madison Square Garden Sports. United Parks & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Madison Square Garden Sports, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for United Parks & Resorts and Madison Square Garden Sports, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| United Parks & Resorts | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Madison Square Garden Sports | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
United Parks & Resorts presently has a consensus price target of $65.40, indicating a potential upside of 27.54%. Madison Square Garden Sports has a consensus price target of $235.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.26%. Given United Parks & Resorts’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe United Parks & Resorts is more favorable than Madison Square Garden Sports.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
68.9% of Madison Square Garden Sports shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of United Parks & Resorts shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.3% of Madison Square Garden Sports shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
United Parks & Resorts beats Madison Square Garden Sports on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About United Parks & Resorts
United Parks & Resorts Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a theme park and entertainment company in the United States. It operates and licenses SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and San Diego, California, as well as Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia. The company also operates water park attractions in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Chula Vista, California; Tampa, Florida; and Williamsburg, Virginia. In addition, the company operates a reservations-only theme park in Orlando, Florida and a park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania; and theme park in Chula Vista, California. It operates a portfolio of theme parks under the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Water Country USA, Adventure Island, and Sesame Place brand name. The company was formerly known as SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. and changed its name to United Parks & Resorts Inc. in February 2024. SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
About Madison Square Garden Sports
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. operates as a professional sports company in the United States. The company owns and operates a portfolio of assets that consists of the New York Knickerbockers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. Its other professional franchises include development league teams, the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League and the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. The company also owns Knicks Gaming, an esports franchise that competes in the NBA 2K League. In addition, it operates professional sports team performance centers, the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Greenburgh. The company was formerly known as The Madison Square Garden Company. Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. was incorporated in 2015 and is based in New York, New York.
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