Critical Analysis: American Realty Investors (ARL) & Its Rivals

American Realty Investors (NYSE:ARL) is one of 329 publicly-traded companies in the “Real Estate Management & Development” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare American Realty Investors to related businesses based on the strength of its earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares American Realty Investors and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Realty Investors	16.36%	-0.37%	-0.28%
American Realty Investors Competitors	-263.83%	-682.75%	-1.10%

Risk & Volatility

American Realty Investors has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Realty Investors’ rivals have a beta of -0.22, suggesting that their average stock price is 122% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for American Realty Investors and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Realty Investors	0	1	0	0	2.00
American Realty Investors Competitors	1574	4682	7434	207	2.45

As a group, “Real Estate Management & Development” companies have a potential upside of 26.60%. Given American Realty Investors’ rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe American Realty Investors has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.4% of shares of all “Real Estate Management & Development” companies are owned by institutional investors. 90.8% of American Realty Investors shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 27.1% of shares of all “Real Estate Management & Development” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares American Realty Investors and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Realty Investors	$51.05 million	$15.70 million	31.82
American Realty Investors Competitors	$6.70 billion	-$400.32 million	10.03

American Realty Investors’ rivals have higher revenue, but lower earnings than American Realty Investors. American Realty Investors is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

American Realty Investors beats its rivals on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

American Realty Investors Company Profile

American Realty Investors, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, develops, owns, and manages multifamily and commercial real estate properties in the Southern United States. It operates through two segments, Residential and Commercial. The company leases apartment units to residents; and office, industrial, and retail space to various for-profit businesses, as well as local, state, and federal agencies. It also offers tenant services, including parking and storage space rental; and sells land and properties. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Dallas, Texas. American Realty Investors, Inc. is a subsidiary of Realty Advisors, Inc.