Financial Comparison: Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) & Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL)

Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Accel Entertainment has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Las Vegas Sands has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Accel Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Accel Entertainment	0	0	2	0	3.00
Las Vegas Sands	0	5	10	1	2.75

Accel Entertainment presently has a consensus price target of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 34.74%. Las Vegas Sands has a consensus price target of $58.33, suggesting a potential upside of 3.70%. Given Accel Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Accel Entertainment is more favorable than Las Vegas Sands.

Profitability

This table compares Accel Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Accel Entertainment	2.75%	28.46%	6.81%
Las Vegas Sands	12.16%	55.37%	7.89%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Accel Entertainment and Las Vegas Sands”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Accel Entertainment	$1.23 billion	0.79	$35.25 million	$0.40	28.76
Las Vegas Sands	$11.30 billion	3.42	$1.45 billion	$1.98	28.41

Las Vegas Sands has higher revenue and earnings than Accel Entertainment. Las Vegas Sands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Accel Entertainment, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.4% of Accel Entertainment shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.3% of Accel Entertainment shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Las Vegas Sands 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

Las Vegas Sands beats Accel Entertainment on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Accel Entertainment

Accel Entertainment, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a distributed gaming operator in the United States. It is involved in the installation, maintenance, and operation of gaming terminals; redemption devices that disburse winnings and contain automated teller machine (ATM) functionality; and other amusement devices in authorized non-casino locations, such as restaurants, bars, taverns, convenience stores, liquor stores, truck stops, and grocery stores. The company also provides gaming solutions to the location partners. In addition, it operates stand-alone ATMs in gaming and non-gaming locations, as well as amusement devices, including jukeboxes, dartboards, pool tables, and other related entertainment equipment. The company is headquartered in Burr Ridge, Illinois.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People’s Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The company’s integrated resorts feature accommodations, gaming, entertainment and retail malls, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants, and other amenities. Las Vegas Sands Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.