Analyzing Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) and Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) and Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Churchill Downs and Sabre”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Churchill Downs	$2.93 billion	1.86	$383.00 million	$5.83	13.42
Sabre	$2.77 billion	0.28	$524.62 million	$1.65	1.16

Sabre has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Churchill Downs. Sabre is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Churchill Downs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

82.6% of Churchill Downs shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.4% of Sabre shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Churchill Downs shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Sabre shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Churchill Downs and Sabre, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Churchill Downs	0	1	10	0	2.91
Sabre	1	3	1	0	2.00

Churchill Downs presently has a consensus target price of $134.89, suggesting a potential upside of 72.47%. Sabre has a consensus target price of $1.75, suggesting a potential downside of 8.85%. Given Churchill Downs’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Churchill Downs is more favorable than Sabre.

Risk and Volatility

Churchill Downs has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sabre has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Churchill Downs and Sabre’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Churchill Downs	13.82%	42.16%	6.31%
Sabre	25.14%	N/A	-2.12%

Summary

Churchill Downs beats Sabre on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs Incorporated operates as a racing, online wagering, and gaming entertainment company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Live and Historical Racing, TwinSpires, and Gaming. The company operates pari-mutuel gaming entertainment venues; TwinSpires, an online wagering platform for horse racing, sports, and iGaming; retail sports books; casino gaming; and Terre Haute Casino Resort. It also offers streaming video of live horse races, replays, and an assortment of racing and handicapping information; and provides the Bloodstock Research Information Services platform for horse racing statistical data. In addition, the company manufactures and operates pari-mutuel wagering systems for racetracks, off-track betting facilities, and other pari-mutuel wagering businesses. Churchill Downs Incorporated was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

About Sabre

Sabre Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as software and technology company for travel industry in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Travel Solutions and Hospitality Solutions. The Travel Solutions segment operates a business-to-business travel marketplace that offers travel content, such as inventory, prices, and availability from a range of travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines, and tour operators with a network of travel buyers comprising online and offline travel agencies, travel management companies, and corporate travel departments. This segment provides a portfolio of software technology products and solutions through software-as-a-service (SaaS) and hosted delivery models to airlines and other travel suppliers. Its products include reservation systems for carriers, commercial and operations products, agency solutions, and data-driven intelligence solutions. Its Hospitality Solutions segment provides software and solutions to hoteliers through SaaS and hosted delivery models. Sabre Corporation was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Southlake, Texas.