Comparing Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) and Metro One Telecommunications (OTCMKTS:WOWI)

Metro One Telecommunications (OTCMKTS:WOWI) and Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ:SHEN) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Metro One Telecommunications has a beta of 7.13, indicating that its share price is 613% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shenandoah Telecommunications has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Metro One Telecommunications and Shenandoah Telecommunications’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Metro One Telecommunications	N/A	N/A	N/A
Shenandoah Telecommunications	-9.98%	-4.25%	-2.13%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

62.0% of Shenandoah Telecommunications shares are held by institutional investors. 33.0% of Metro One Telecommunications shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Shenandoah Telecommunications shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Metro One Telecommunications and Shenandoah Telecommunications”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Metro One Telecommunications	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.75)	0.00
Shenandoah Telecommunications	$328.06 million	1.95	$190.39 million	($0.63)	-18.48

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Metro One Telecommunications and Shenandoah Telecommunications, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Metro One Telecommunications	0	0	0	0	0.00
Shenandoah Telecommunications	1	0	1	0	2.00

Shenandoah Telecommunications has a consensus target price of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 123.37%. Given Shenandoah Telecommunications’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Shenandoah Telecommunications is more favorable than Metro One Telecommunications.

About Metro One Telecommunications

Metro One Telecommunications, Inc. provides mobile commerce platform that enables retailers to launch their own branded mobile application in the United States. Its Mobile Commerce Merchant Platform allows small and medium-sized business retailers and enterprises to launch a branded and functional mobile app; Mobile Commerce Enterprise Platform that enables enterprise retailers, who own and operates brick and mortar store, as well as e-commerce platforms to engage with their customer online and in-store through the customer's mobile application; and Instore engagement Suite solutions. The company was formerly known as Metro One Direct Information Services Inc. and changed its name to Metro One Telecommunications, Inc. in December 1995. Metro One Telecommunications, Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Sheridan, Wyoming.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of broadband communication services and cell tower colocation space in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the United States. It operates in two segments, Broadband and Tower. The company Broadband segment offers broadband, video, and voice services to residential and commercial customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky through hybrid fiber coaxial cable under the Shentel brand; and fiber optic services under the Glo Fiber brand name. This segment also leases dark fiber and provides Ethernet and wavelength fiber optic services to enterprise and wholesale customers under the Glo Fiber Enterprise and Glo Fiber Wholesale brand names; and provides voice data and DSL telephone services. The Tower segment owns macro cellular towers and leases colocation space to the wireless communications providers. Shenandoah Telecommunications Company was founded in 1902 and is based in Edinburg, Virginia.