Manchester United (NYSE:MANU – Get Free Report) and Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Manchester United and Cedar Fair’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Manchester United | -17.28% | -55.05% | -3.97% |
| Cedar Fair | 6.80% | -23.97% | 6.70% |
Risk & Volatility
Manchester United has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cedar Fair has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Manchester United | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Cedar Fair | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2.73 |
Manchester United currently has a consensus target price of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.26%. Cedar Fair has a consensus target price of $57.91, indicating a potential upside of 42.35%. Given Cedar Fair’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cedar Fair is more favorable than Manchester United.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Manchester United and Cedar Fair”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Manchester United | $661.76 million | 4.10 | -$142.51 million | ($0.62) | -26.58 |
| Cedar Fair | $1.82 billion | 1.15 | $124.56 million | $2.43 | 16.74 |
Cedar Fair has higher revenue and earnings than Manchester United. Manchester United is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cedar Fair, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Manchester United pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Cedar Fair pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Manchester United pays out -14.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cedar Fair pays out 49.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
23.3% of Manchester United shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.7% of Cedar Fair shares are held by institutional investors. 68.6% of Manchester United shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Cedar Fair shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Cedar Fair beats Manchester United on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Manchester United
Manchester United plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a professional sports team in the United Kingdom. It operates Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club. The company develops marketing and sponsorship relationships with international and regional companies to leverage its brand. It also markets and sells sports apparel, training and leisure wear, and other clothing; and other licensed products, such as coffee mugs and bed spreads featuring the Manchester United brand and trademarks, as well as distributes these products through Manchester United branded retail centers and e-commerce platforms, and through the company’s partners’ wholesale distribution channels. In addition, the company distributes live football content directly, as well as through commercial partners; broadcasts television rights relating to the Premier League, Union of European Football Associations club competitions, and other competitions; and delivers Manchester United programming through MUTV television channel to territories worldwide. Further, it operates Old Trafford, a sports venue with 74,240 seats, as well as invests in properties. The company was formerly known as Manchester United Ltd. changed its name to Manchester United plc in August 2012. Manchester United plc was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Manchester, the United Kingdom.
About Cedar Fair
Cedar Fair, L.P. owns and operates amusement and water parks, as well as complementary resort facilities. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California's Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Michigan's Adventure situated near Muskegon, Michigan; Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas; and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston in Galveston, Texas. The company also owns and operates the Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort, Hotel Breakers, Cedar Point's Express Hotel, and Sawmill Creek Resort. Cedar Fair, L.P. was founded in 1983 and is based in Sandusky, Ohio.
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