Critical Contrast: American Realty Investors (NYSE:ARL) & Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL)

Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) and American Realty Investors (NYSE:ARL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Jones Lang LaSalle has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Realty Investors has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Jones Lang LaSalle and American Realty Investors”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jones Lang LaSalle	$26.12 billion	0.58	$792.10 million	$18.60	17.60
American Realty Investors	$50.01 million	6.18	$15.70 million	$0.76	25.19

Jones Lang LaSalle has higher revenue and earnings than American Realty Investors. Jones Lang LaSalle is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Realty Investors, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Jones Lang LaSalle and American Realty Investors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jones Lang LaSalle	0	2	5	1	2.88
American Realty Investors	1	0	0	0	1.00

Jones Lang LaSalle currently has a consensus price target of $394.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.35%. Given Jones Lang LaSalle’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Jones Lang LaSalle is more favorable than American Realty Investors.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.8% of Jones Lang LaSalle shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Jones Lang LaSalle shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 90.8% of American Realty Investors shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Jones Lang LaSalle and American Realty Investors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jones Lang LaSalle	3.35%	13.01%	5.47%
American Realty Investors	24.21%	0.10%	0.07%

Summary

Jones Lang LaSalle beats American Realty Investors on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jones Lang LaSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated operates as a commercial real estate and investment management company. It engages in the buying, building, occupying, managing, and investing in a commercial, industrial, hotel, residential, and retail properties in Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers a range of real estate services, including agency leasing, tenant representation, property management, advisory, and consulting services; and capital market services, such as equity and debt advisory, loan sales, equity advisory, loan servicing, merger and acquisition, corporate advisory, and investment sales and advisory services. It also provides on-site management services for office, industrial, retail, multifamily residential, and various other properties; integrated facilities management services; designing, building, management, and consulting services to tenants of leased space, owners in self-occupied buildings, and owners of real estate investments; and advisory, consulting, valuation, and energy and sustainability services. In addition, the company offers investment management services to institutional and retail investors, including high-net-worth individuals. It provides its services to real estate owners, occupiers, investors, and developers for various property types, including critical environments and data centers, offices, industrial and warehouses, residential properties, infrastructure projects, retail and shopping malls, logistics, and military housing and transportation centers; and hotels and hospitality, cultural, educational, government, healthcare and laboratory, and sports facilities. The company was formerly known as LaSalle Partners Incorporated and changed its name to Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated in March 1999. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About American Realty Investors

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.