Head-To-Head Survey: Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) versus Gannett (NYSE:GCI)

Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) and Gannett (NYSE:GCI) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lendway	-9.15%	-34.26%	-4.34%
Gannett	4.11%	42.98%	3.97%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lendway and Gannett”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lendway	$48.58 million	0.13	-$5.74 million	($2.44)	-1.45
Gannett	$2.51 billion	0.27	-$26.35 million	$0.21	21.67

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Lendway and Gannett, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lendway	1	0	0	0	1.00
Gannett	1	1	1	0	2.00

Gannett has a consensus price target of $5.55, suggesting a potential upside of 21.98%. Given Gannett’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Gannett is more favorable than Lendway.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

6.6% of Lendway shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.7% of Gannett shares are held by institutional investors. 15.4% of Lendway shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Gannett shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Lendway has a beta of 2.72, indicating that its stock price is 172% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gannett has a beta of 2.55, indicating that its stock price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Gannett beats Lendway on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lendway

Lendway, Inc. operates as a specialty agricultural and finance company focusing on making and managing its agricultural investments in the United States and internationally. It owns and operates FarmlandCredit.com, a non-bank lending business that seeks to purchase existing loans and/or originate and fund new loans domestically. The company was formerly known as Insignia Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Lendway, Inc. in August 2023. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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.