Reviewing Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO) and John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY)

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) and Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

John Wiley & Sons has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clear Channel Outdoor has a beta of 1.95, indicating that its share price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

73.9% of John Wiley & Sons shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.5% of Clear Channel Outdoor shares are held by institutional investors. 17.6% of John Wiley & Sons shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of Clear Channel Outdoor shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for John Wiley & Sons and Clear Channel Outdoor, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John Wiley & Sons	0	1	1	0	2.50
Clear Channel Outdoor	2	4	0	0	1.67

Clear Channel Outdoor has a consensus target price of $2.29, indicating a potential downside of 3.90%. Given Clear Channel Outdoor’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Clear Channel Outdoor is more favorable than John Wiley & Sons.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares John Wiley & Sons and Clear Channel Outdoor”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John Wiley & Sons	$1.68 billion	1.47	$221.62 million	$3.78	12.86
Clear Channel Outdoor	$1.60 billion	0.76	$19.94 million	($0.21)	-11.36

John Wiley & Sons has higher revenue and earnings than Clear Channel Outdoor. Clear Channel Outdoor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than John Wiley & Sons, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares John Wiley & Sons and Clear Channel Outdoor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John Wiley & Sons	11.90%	27.99%	8.16%
Clear Channel Outdoor	-6.31%	N/A	-2.08%

Summary

John Wiley & Sons beats Clear Channel Outdoor on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. engages in the provision of research and learning materials. It operates through the following segments: Research, Learning, and Held for Sale or Sold. The Research segment consists of research publishing and research solutions. The Learning segment includes academic and professional reporting lines and consists of publishing and related knowledge solutions. The Held for Sale or Sold segment offers businesses held-for-sale including Wiley Edge and CrossKnowledge, University Services and Tuition Manager, and Test Prep and Advancement Courses. The company was founded by Charles Wiley in 1807 and is headquartered in Hoboken, NJ.

About Clear Channel Outdoor

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. operates as an out-of-home advertising company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through America, Airports, Europe-North, and Other segments. The company provides advertising services through billboards, including bulletins and posters, as well as spectaculars, which are customized display structures with videos, multi-dimensional lettering and figures, mechanical devices, moving parts, and other embellishments; street furniture displays, such as advertising surfaces on bus shelters, information kiosks, news racks, and other public structures; transit displays for rail stations and on various types of vehicles; retail displays; and airport advertising displays. It offers solutions, such as RADARView, an audience and campaign planning tool, which analyzes historical mobile location data; RADARConnect, a campaign amplification solution that delivers ads across mobile and other devices to re-target audience groups exposed to an out-of-home advertisement; RADARProof, a campaign measurement and attribution solutions which analyzes anonymized and/or aggregated data; and RADARSync, a data integration platform that uses customer data across the tools for customized application of solutions to customers' specific audience targets and goals. In addition, the company sells street furniture equipment; provides cleaning and maintenance services; and operates public bike programs, a public bicycle rental program that offers bicycles for rent to the public. The company was formerly known as Eller Media Company and changed its name to Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. in August 2005. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.