Stars Group (NASDAQ: TSG) and Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.
Profitability
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This table compares Stars Group and Sabre’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Stars Group | 19.39% | 24.66% | 8.95% |
| Sabre | 6.93% | 49.84% | 6.21% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Stars Group and Sabre’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Stars Group | $1.31 billion | 4.70 | $259.23 million | $2.25 | 16.16 |
| Sabre | $3.60 billion | 1.98 | $242.53 million | $1.30 | 19.96 |
Stars Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sabre. Stars Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sabre, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
64.3% of Stars Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Sabre shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Stars Group and Sabre, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Stars Group | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Sabre | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2.60 |
Sabre has a consensus price target of $25.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.66%. Given Sabre’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sabre is more favorable than Stars Group.
Volatility and Risk
Stars Group has a beta of 1.8, suggesting that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sabre has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Sabre pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Stars Group does not pay a dividend. Sabre pays out 43.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
About Stars Group
The Stars Group Inc. provides technology-based products and services to gaming and interactive entertainment industries in Canada and internationally. It owns and operates gaming and related interactive entertainment businesses under the PokerStars, PokerStars Casino, BetStars, Full Tilt, the PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship, European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, PokerStars Festival, and PokerStars MEGASTACK live poker tour and event brands, The company was formerly known as Amaya, Inc. and changed its name to The Stars Group Inc. in August 2017. The Stars Group Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
About Sabre
Sabre Corporation, through its subsidiary, Sabre Holdings Corporation, provides technology solutions to the travel and tourism industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Travel Network, and Airline and Hospitality Solutions. The Travel Network segment operates as a business-to-business travel marketplace that offers travel content, such as inventory, prices, and availability from a range of travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines, and tour operators with a network of travel buyers comprising online and offline travel agencies, travel management companies, and corporate travel departments. The Airline and Hospitality Solutions segment provides a portfolio of software technology products and solutions through software-as-a-service and hosted delivery models to airlines, hoteliers, and other travel suppliers. Its products include SabreSonic Customer Sales & Service, a reservation system that provides capabilities around managing sales and customer service across an airline's diverse touch points; Sabre AirVision Marketing & Planning, a set of airline commercial planning solutions; and Sabre AirCentre Enterprise Operations, a set of solutions for planning and management of airline, airport, and customer operations. This segment also provides software and solutions to hoteliers through SynXis, a central reservation system; SynXis Property Manager Solution for property management; and marketing, professional, and revenue management services. Sabre Corporation was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Southlake, Texas.
