Contrasting Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) and Autohome (NYSE:ATHM)

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) and Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) are both mid-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.1% of Match Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.1% of Autohome shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Match Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Autohome shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Match Group has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autohome has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Match Group and Autohome”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Match Group	$3.49 billion	2.67	$613.45 million	$2.83	14.33
Autohome	$5.49 billion	0.45	$225.19 million	$1.16	18.34

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

Dividends

Match Group pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Autohome pays an annual dividend of $2.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.3%. Match Group pays out 28.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Autohome pays out 207.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Match Group and Autohome, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Match Group	0	9	6	1	2.50
Autohome	1	5	0	0	1.83

Match Group currently has a consensus price target of $42.46, indicating a potential upside of 4.71%. Autohome has a consensus price target of $17.77, indicating a potential downside of 16.49%. Given Match Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Match Group is more favorable than Autohome.

Profitability

This table compares Match Group and Autohome’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Match Group	20.17%	-324.82%	17.36%
Autohome	17.05%	4.44%	3.53%

Summary

Match Group beats Autohome on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Match Group

Match Group, Inc. engages in the provision of dating products. Its portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, BLK, and Hakuna, as well as a various other brands, each built to increase users' likelihood of connecting with others. Its services are available in over 40 languages to users worldwide. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc. operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People’s Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps. It provides media services, including automaker advertising services and regional marketing campaigns; and leads generation services comprising dealer subscription services, advertising services for individual dealers, and used automobile listing and other platform-based services. The company offers Autohome Mall, an online transaction platform; and online bidding platform for used automobiles, as well as collects commissions for facilitating transactions of auto-financing and insurance products on its platform. The company was formerly known as Sequel Limited and changed its name to Autohome Inc. in October 2011. Autohome Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.