Reviewing Ziff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD) & ZoomInfo Technologies (NASDAQ:ZI)
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyZiff Davis (NASDAQ:ZD – Get Free Report) and ZoomInfo Technologies (NASDAQ:ZI – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings for Ziff Davis and ZoomInfo Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ziff Davis | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.33 |
| ZoomInfo Technologies | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.80 |
Ziff Davis presently has a consensus price target of $59.75, indicating a potential upside of 1.05%. ZoomInfo Technologies has a consensus price target of $5.50, indicating a potential upside of 34.47%. Given ZoomInfo Technologies’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ZoomInfo Technologies is more favorable than Ziff Davis.
Profitability
This table compares Ziff Davis and ZoomInfo Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ziff Davis | 48.57% | 10.73% | 5.54% |
| ZoomInfo Technologies | 0.74% | 12.05% | 3.46% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Ziff Davis and ZoomInfo Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ziff Davis | $1.45 billion | 1.40 | $47.35 million | $17.67 | 3.35 |
| ZoomInfo Technologies | $1.21 billion | 1.15 | $107.30 million | $0.12 | 34.08 |
ZoomInfo Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ziff Davis. Ziff Davis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ZoomInfo Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Ziff Davis has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZoomInfo Technologies has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
99.8% of Ziff Davis shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of ZoomInfo Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Ziff Davis shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.0% of ZoomInfo Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Ziff Davis beats ZoomInfo Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media and internet company in the United States and internationally. The company offers PCMag, an online resource for laboratory-based product reviews, technology news, buying guides, and research papers; Mashable for publishing technology and culture content; Spiceworks Ziff Davis provides digital content of IT products and services; retailMeNot, a savings destination platform; Offers.com, a coupon and deals website; and event-based properties, including BlackFriday.com, TheBlackFriday.com, BestBlackFriday.com, and DealsofAmerica.com. It also offers gaming and entertainment content under the IGN Entertainment and Humble Bundle brands; and information on internet connectivity under the Ookla, Ekahau, Downdetector, and RootMetrics brands. The company also offers digital content and information services for health and wellness consumers under the Everyday Health, DailyOM, Lose It!, Diabetes Daily, Castle Connolly, and Migraine Again brands; pregnancy and parenting content under the BabyCenter, Emma's Diary, and What to Expect brands; and Medpage Today that delivers medical news. In addition, the company offers PRIME Education, a medical education program for healthcare professionals; and Health eCareers, a digital portal for healthcare professionals. Further, it provides endpoint and email security, security awareness training, secure backup and file sharing, and virtual private network solutions under the IPVanish, VIPRE, Livedrive, Inspired eLearning, and SugarSync brands; and email marketing and delivery solutions, search engine optimization tools, and voice and text communication services under the Campaigner, iContact, SMTP, Kickbox, MOZ Pro, MOZ Local, Stat Analytics, eVoice, and Line2 brands. The company was formerly known as j2 Global, Inc. and changed its name to Ziff Davis, Inc. in October 2021. Ziff Davis, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
About ZoomInfo Technologies
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides go-to-market intelligence and engagement platform for sales and marketing teams in the United States and internationally. The company's cloud-based platform provides information on organizations and professionals to help users identify target customers and decision makers, obtain continually updated predictive lead and company scoring, monitor buying signals and other attributes of target companies, craft messages, engage through automated sales tools, and track progress through the deal cycle. It serves enterprises, mid-market companies, and down to small businesses that operate in various industry, including software, business services, manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, media and internet, transportation, education, hospitality, and real estate. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.