Tripadvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) and Despegar.com (NYSE:DESP) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.
Valuation and Earnings
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This table compares Tripadvisor and Despegar.com"™s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | ||
| Tripadvisor | $1.48 billion | 3.22 | $120.00 million | $0.47 | 72.96 |
| Despegar.com | $411.16 million | 3.87 | $17.79 million | N/A | N/A |
Tripadvisor has higher revenue and earnings than Despegar.com.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings for Tripadvisor and Despegar.com, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Tripadvisor | 6 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1.74 |
| Despegar.com | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60 |
Tripadvisor presently has a consensus price target of $39.71, indicating a potential upside of 15.79%. Despegar.com has a consensus price target of $35.80, indicating a potential upside of 51.12%. Given Despegar.com"™s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Despegar.com is more favorable than Tripadvisor.
Profitability
This table compares Tripadvisor and Despegar.com"™s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Tripadvisor | 4.26% | 6.81% | 4.13% |
| Despegar.com | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
88.8% of Tripadvisor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.6% of Despegar.com shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Tripadvisor shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth…
