Reviewing Telstra (OTCMKTS:TLSYY) and SurgePays (NASDAQ:SURG)

Telstra (OTCMKTS:TLSYY) and SurgePays (NASDAQ:SURG) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Telstra and SurgePays, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Telstra	0	0	0	0	0.00
SurgePays	0	1	1	0	2.50

SurgePays has a consensus price target of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 452.15%. Given SurgePays’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SurgePays is more favorable than Telstra.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Telstra and SurgePays”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Telstra	$15.21 billion	1.90	$1.22 billion	N/A	N/A
SurgePays	$137.14 million	0.23	$20.62 million	($1.13)	-1.44

Telstra has higher revenue and earnings than SurgePays.

Risk & Volatility

Telstra has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SurgePays has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Telstra and SurgePays’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Telstra	N/A	N/A	N/A
SurgePays	-27.39%	-52.33%	-40.79%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

6.9% of SurgePays shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.4% of SurgePays shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Telstra

Telstra Corporation Limited provides telecommunications and information services to businesses, governments, and individuals in Australia and internationally. It operates in four segments: Telstra Consumer and Small Business, Telstra Enterprise, Networks and IT, and Telstra InfraCo. The company offers telecommunication, media and technology products and services in Australia using mobile and fixed network technologies, as well as operates call centers, retail stores, a dealership network, digital channels, distribution systems and Telstra Plus customer loyalty program. It also provides network capacity and management, unified communications, cloud, security, industry solutions, integrated and monitoring services to government and large enterprise and business customers; wholesale services, including voice and data; and telecommunication products and services to other carriers, carriage service providers, and internet service providers, as well as builds and manages digital platforms. In addition, the company operates the fixed passive network infrastructure, including data centers, exchanges, poles, ducts, pits and pipes, and fiber network; provides wholesale customers with access to network infrastructure; provides long-term access to components of infrastructure under the infrastructure services agreement; designs and constructs fiber, exchanges, and other infrastructure; and operates the passive and physical mobile tower assets owned or operated by the Amplitel Pty Ltd. The company was formerly known as Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited and changed its name to Telstra Corporation Limited in April 1993. Telstra Corporation Limited was founded in 1901 and is based in Melbourne, Australia.

About SurgePays

SurgePays, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial technology and telecom company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mobile Virtual Network Operators, Comprehensive Platform Services, and Lead Generation. The company offers subsidized and non-subsidized mobile virtual network operators for internet connectivity through mobile broadband services to consumers; ACH banking relationships and fintech transactions platform to convenience stores; wireless top-up transactions and wireless product aggregation; and lead generation and case management solutions primarily to law firms in the mass tort industry, as well as call center activities. SurgePays, Inc. is headquartered in Bartlett, Tennessee.