Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN – Get Free Report) and Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW – Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Golden Entertainment and Light & Wonder”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Golden Entertainment | $666.82 million | 1.09 | $50.73 million | $0.18 | 154.23 |
| Light & Wonder | $3.22 billion | 2.31 | $336.00 million | $4.59 | 19.86 |
Volatility and Risk
Golden Entertainment has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Light & Wonder has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Golden Entertainment and Light & Wonder, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Golden Entertainment | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.11 |
| Light & Wonder | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2.40 |
Golden Entertainment currently has a consensus price target of $32.60, indicating a potential upside of 17.43%. Light & Wonder has a consensus price target of $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.21%. Given Golden Entertainment’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Golden Entertainment is more favorable than Light & Wonder.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
70.7% of Golden Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Light & Wonder shares are held by institutional investors. 30.5% of Golden Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Light & Wonder shares are held by 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.
Profitability
This table compares Golden Entertainment and Light & Wonder’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Golden Entertainment | 0.85% | 1.20% | 0.52% |
| Light & Wonder | 10.89% | 71.17% | 8.73% |
Summary
Light & Wonder beats Golden Entertainment on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Golden Entertainment
Golden Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates a diversified entertainment platform in the United States. The company operates through four segments; Nevada Casino Resorts, Nevada Locals Casinos, Nevada Taverns, and Distributed Gaming. It also operates casino, casino resorts, and taverns; and slot machines in third party non-casino locations. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
About Light & Wonder
Light & Wonder, Inc. is a cross-platform global games company, which engages in the development of content and digital markets. It operates through the following segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming. The Gaming segment includes the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of portfolio of gaming products and services. The SciPlay segment involves the development and publishing of digital games on mobile and web platforms. The iGaming segment focuses on the provision of digital gaming content, distribution platforms, player account management systems, and services. The company was founded on July 2, 1984 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV.
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