NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) and Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) Head to Head Contrast

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) and Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NerdWallet and Shutterstock”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NerdWallet	$884.50 million	0.55	$48.70 million	$0.78	9.81
Shutterstock	$815.09 million	0.12	$45.50 million	($11.37)	-0.23

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

Profitability

This table compares NerdWallet and Shutterstock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NerdWallet	6.06%	15.56%	12.25%
Shutterstock	-51.19%	13.31%	4.76%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for NerdWallet and Shutterstock, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NerdWallet	1	4	3	0	2.25
Shutterstock	1	1	1	0	2.00

NerdWallet currently has a consensus price target of $10.90, suggesting a potential upside of 42.39%. Shutterstock has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 164.15%. Given Shutterstock’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Shutterstock is more favorable than NerdWallet.

Volatility & Risk

NerdWallet has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shutterstock has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

38.8% of NerdWallet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Shutterstock shares are held by institutional investors. 52.7% of NerdWallet shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.3% of Shutterstock shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

NerdWallet beats Shutterstock on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet, Inc. is a personal finance company that operates a digital platform to help consumers make financial decisions. Its website and mobile app provide educational content, comparison tools and recommendations across products such as credit cards, banking, mortgages, personal loans, insurance and investing services. The company was founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and offers services primarily in the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. NerdWallet also serves small and midsize businesses with financial information and product recommendations.

About Shutterstock

Shutterstock, Inc. is a global technology company that provides licensed visual, video and audio content for businesses, media organizations, marketing professionals and individual creators. Its platform offers stock photographs, illustrations, vectors, video footage, music and other creative assets, which customers can access through subscription plans, content licenses and enterprise solutions. The company also provides creative workflow and content-production tools, including editing capabilities, generative artificial intelligence features and services that help organizations find, customize and manage digital media.