Head to Head Comparison: Torstar (OTCMKTS:TORSF) and Gannett (NYSE:GCI)

Gannett (NYSE:GCI) and Torstar (OTCMKTS:TORSF) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.7% of Gannett shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Gannett shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Gannett and Torstar, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gannett	0	0	1	0	3.00
Torstar	0	0	0	0	N/A

Gannett presently has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 115.52%. Given Gannett’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Gannett is more favorable than Torstar.

Profitability

This table compares Gannett and Torstar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gannett	-1.04%	-12.70%	-1.81%
Torstar	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Gannett and Torstar’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gannett	$2.66 billion	0.13	-$27.79 million	($0.20)	-11.60
Torstar	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Torstar has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Gannett.

Summary

Gannett beats Torstar on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gannett

Gannett Co., Inc. operates as a media and marketing solutions company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Domestic Gannett Media, Newsquest, and Digital Marketing Solutions. The company's print offerings includes home delivery on a subscription basis; single copy; non-daily publications, such as shoppers and niche publications. It also provides digital-only subscription, including local media brands, USA TODAY NETWORK community events platform, magazines, sports, and games; and E-newspapers; and digital advertising and marketing services. In addition, the company offers digital news and media brands; daily and weekly newspapers; digital marketing solutions, such as online presence solutions, online advertising products, conversion software, and cloud-based software solutions; commercial printing and distribution services; and prints commercial materials, including flyers, business cards, and invitations. The company was formerly known as New Media Investment Group Inc. and changed its name to Gannett Co., Inc. in November 2019. Gannett Co., Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About Torstar

Torstar Corporation operates as a media company in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Community Brands, Daily Brands, and Digital Ventures. The company publishes the Toronto Star newspaper; the Metro daily print editions; Sing Tao Daily, a Chinese-language daily newspaper, as well as operates thestar.com, a newspaper Website in Canada; and operates Toronto.com, Torstar Syndication Services, and The Kit, a print and digital publication focuses on beauty, fashion, and wellness. It also publishes newspapers comprising The Hamilton Spectator, the Waterloo Region Record, the St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls review, Welland Tribune, and Peterborough Examiner; and digital properties, including Localwork.ca, Homefinder.ca, Gottarent.com, Goldbook.ca, and Wheels.ca, as well as provides specialty publications, directories, and consumer show services. The Digital Ventures segment provides digital media services comprising programmatic advertising; and offers advertisers access to audiences in automotive, power sports, outdoors, home, and health verticals. The company was founded in 1892 and is based in Toronto, Canada.