Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) and Nuvera Communications (OTCMKTS:NUVR) Head to Head Survey

Nuvera Communications (OTCMKTS:NUVR) and Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.4% of Nuvera Communications shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.2% of Lumen Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of Nuvera Communications shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Lumen Technologies 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.

Profitability

This table compares Nuvera Communications and Lumen Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nuvera Communications	-4.89%	5.84%	2.42%
Lumen Technologies	-70.74%	4.85%	0.51%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Nuvera Communications and Lumen Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nuvera Communications	0	0	0	0	N/A
Lumen Technologies	1	4	0	0	1.80

Lumen Technologies has a consensus target price of $1.81, indicating a potential upside of 37.12%. Given Lumen Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lumen Technologies is more favorable than Nuvera Communications.

Volatility & Risk

Nuvera Communications has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lumen Technologies has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nuvera Communications and Lumen Technologies’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nuvera Communications	$65.79 million	0.90	-$3.21 million	($0.62)	-18.55
Lumen Technologies	$14.56 billion	0.09	-$10.30 billion	($10.47)	-0.13

Nuvera Communications has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Lumen Technologies. Nuvera Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lumen Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Nuvera Communications beats Lumen Technologies on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nuvera Communications

Nuvera Communications, Inc. operates as a diversified communications company in the United States. The company offers broadband Internet access and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone services; voice services to make and receive telephone calls within a defined local calling area; and network access services to other communication carriers for the use of its facilities to terminate or originate long distance calls on its fiber network. It also provides video services, including commercial TV programming, cable television services, and video-on-demand services; data services for business and residential customers; email and managed services comprising web hosting and design, online file back up, and online file storage; directory assistance, operator service, and long-distance private lines; directory publishing, bill processing, and other customer services; and fiber-delivered communications and managed information technology solutions, as well as sells and services customer premise equipment. In addition, the company is involved in the retail sale and service of cellular phones and accessories; and the operation of various IPTV and CATV systems. The company serves communities in Minnesota and Iowa through customer service call centers, its website, and commissioned sales representatives. The company was formerly known as New Ulm Telecom, Inc. and changed its name to Nuvera Communications, Inc. in June 2018. Nuvera Communications, Inc. was incorporated in 1905 and is headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota.

About Lumen Technologies

Lumen Technologies, Inc., a facilities-based technology and communications company, provides various integrated products and services to business and residential customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Business and Mass Markets. It offers dark fiber, edge cloud services, internet protocol, managed security, software-defined wide area networks, secure access service edge, unified communications and collaboration, and optical wavelengths services; ethernet and VPN data networks services; and legacy services to manage cash flow, including time division multiplexing voice, private line, and other legacy services, as well as sells communication equipment, and IT solutions. The company also provides high speed and lower speed broadband service to residential and small business customers; local and long-distance voice services, professional services, and other ancillary services; and federal broadband and state support programs. It serves its products and services under the Lumen, Quantum Fiber, and CenturyLink brands. The company was formerly known as CenturyLink, Inc. and changed its name to Lumen Technologies, Inc. in September 2020. Lumen Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana.