Head to Head Comparison: Madison Square Garden Entertainment (NYSE:MSGE) & United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS)

Madison Square Garden Entertainment (NYSE:MSGE) and United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Madison Square Garden Entertainment and United Parks & Resorts’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Madison Square Garden Entertainment	5.74%	-53.05%	4.72%
United Parks & Resorts	13.84%	-88.59%	9.23%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Madison Square Garden Entertainment and United Parks & Resorts’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Madison Square Garden Entertainment	$851.50 million	1.80	$76.60 million	$1.18	31.53
United Parks & Resorts	$1.73 billion	2.05	$234.20 million	$3.72	15.25

United Parks & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Madison Square Garden Entertainment. United Parks & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Madison Square Garden Entertainment, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Madison Square Garden Entertainment has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Parks & Resorts has a beta of 2.02, meaning that its stock price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Madison Square Garden Entertainment and United Parks & Resorts, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Madison Square Garden Entertainment	0	2	2	0	2.50
United Parks & Resorts	1	2	3	0	2.33

Madison Square Garden Entertainment presently has a consensus target price of $39.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.81%. United Parks & Resorts has a consensus target price of $63.83, indicating a potential upside of 12.54%. Given United Parks & Resorts’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe United Parks & Resorts is more favorable than Madison Square Garden Entertainment.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.9% of Madison Square Garden Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. 18.7% of Madison Square Garden Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of United Parks & Resorts shares are held by 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

United Parks & Resorts beats Madison Square Garden Entertainment on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Madison Square Garden Entertainment

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. engages in live entertainment business. The company produces, presents, and hosts live entertainment events, including concerts, sports events, and other live events, such as family shows, performing arts events, and special events. Its operations include a collection of venues, the entertainment and sports bookings business, and the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes production. The company was formerly known as MSGE Spinco, Inc. Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. was incorporated in 2022 and is based in New York, New York.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a theme park and entertainment company in the United States. It operates and licenses SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and San Diego, California, as well as Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia. The company also operates water park attractions in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Chula Vista, California; Tampa, Florida; and Williamsburg, Virginia. In addition, the company operates a reservations-only theme park in Orlando, Florida and a park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania; and theme park in Chula Vista, California. It operates a portfolio of theme parks under the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Water Country USA, Adventure Island, and Sesame Place brand name. The company was formerly known as SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. and changed its name to United Parks & Resorts Inc. in February 2024. SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.