Head to Head Analysis: Meridian (NASDAQ:MRDN) versus Sportech (OTCMKTS:SPOZF)

Sportech (OTCMKTS:SPOZF) and Meridian (NASDAQ:MRDN) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Sportech and Meridian, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sportech	0	0	0	0	0.00
Meridian	1	0	0	0	1.00

Meridian has a consensus price target of $21.60, indicating a potential upside of 53.41%. Given Meridian’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Meridian is more favorable than Sportech.

Profitability

This table compares Sportech and Meridian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sportech	N/A	N/A	N/A
Meridian	-41.41%	-117.87%	-58.87%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sportech and Meridian”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sportech	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Meridian	$182.86 million	0.98	-$89.90 million	($6.74)	-2.09

Sportech has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Meridian.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

2.7% of Meridian shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.4% of Meridian shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Meridian beats Sportech on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sportech

Sportech Limited, an operator and technology supplier in the gambling market, owns and operates gaming venues in the United Kingdom and North and South America. It offers online, mobile, call center, and retail betting from venues located across Connecticut. The company also provides lottery software and services, as well as operates a pari-mutuel betting website. Sportech PLC was incorporated in 1979 and is based in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom.

About Meridian

Meridian Holdings Inc is engaged in the online gaming and betting business, providing sports betting, online casino, and gaming operations across multiple jurisdictions in Europe, Africa, and Central and South America. The company has three reportable segments: MeridianBet Group, GMAG, and RKings & CFAC. The MeridianBet Group segment includes retail and online sports betting, casinos, and related gaming operations. The GMAG segment focuses on the resale of third-party gaming content, mainly serving customers in the Asia-Pacific region. The RKings & CFAC segment is involved in pay-to-enter prize competitions and trade promotions conducted in the United Kingdom and Australia. It generates the majority of its revenue from the MeridianBet Group segment.