Disney vs. 21st Century Fox - Which Stock Entertains You More In 2014?

Disney (NYSE: DIS) has its hands in many different media operations. From operating its namesake -- the Disney franchise -- to sports empire ESPN, Disney has become almost ubiquitous in the visual entertainment field.

One of the company’s main rivals is 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA), home of the long-running television show The Simpsons, and numerous successful movie franchises. Fox also looks to challenge Disney’s dominance in sports broadcasting and has launched many sports networks of its own.

Let's take a look at how these two companies fared in 2013 and beyond.

On January 2, 2013, Disney stock cost $51.00 per share. The stock moved steadily higher throughout the beginning of the year, and topped the $60 mark in mid-April. But Disney was just getting started. After flirting with $68.00 in mid-May the company experienced a bit of a pull back, going as low as $60.50 in August.

In retrospect, this pullback represented an excellent buying opportunity, as the stock would go on quite the run to close out the year. By year’s end, Disney was trading over $76.00, and closed 2013 near yearly highs at $76.40. Disney stock returned 50 percent for the year. Though it has stalled somewhat in 2014, it has moved slightly higher than its 2013 close in recent trading.

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Fox was riding a wave of upward momentum as it entered 2013. The company began the year at about $24.00, and the upswing -- much like Disney's -- was just beginning. The stock continued to move upward throughout the year with very little pullback, and experienced a year-end surge that saw the stock close near yearly highs.

Between mid-December and the close of the year, the stock jumped from $32.62 to a year-end closing price of $35.17, over a 10 percent jump when compared to the stock’s price at the beginning of the year. When all was said and done, Fox’s stock returned 53 percent on the year. After its stellar 2013, Fox gave back much of its year-end gains, and into mid-February is trading back under $33.00.

Rising gross sales at the box offices, and an improving U.S. economy, undoubtedly had much to do with the success of the companies’ 2013 stock increases. Though both Disney and 21st Century Fox had phenomenal returns last year, the picture seems to be shaping up differently for 2014.

It is too early to tell what will be the result in the long run. But Disney certainly seems to have the momentum compared to Fox, which has largely stalled and begun to fall.