American Strategic Investment (NYSE:NYC) vs. Marcus & Millichap (NYSE:MMI) Critical Contrast

Marcus & Millichap (NYSE:MMI) and American Strategic Investment (NYSE:NYC) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Dividends

Marcus & Millichap pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. American Strategic Investment pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. Marcus & Millichap pays out 135.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. American Strategic Investment pays out 8.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. American Strategic Investment is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Marcus & Millichap and American Strategic Investment, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marcus & Millichap	1	1	0	0	1.50
American Strategic Investment	1	0	0	0	1.00

Marcus & Millichap currently has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.01%. Given Marcus & Millichap’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Marcus & Millichap is more favorable than American Strategic Investment.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Marcus & Millichap and American Strategic Investment”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marcus & Millichap	$755.16 million	1.45	-$1.91 million	$0.37	78.02
American Strategic Investment	$33.41 million	0.56	-$21.19 million	$4.90	1.22

Marcus & Millichap has higher revenue and earnings than American Strategic Investment. American Strategic Investment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marcus & Millichap, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Marcus & Millichap and American Strategic Investment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marcus & Millichap	1.77%	2.97%	2.21%
American Strategic Investment	38.87%	-50.85%	-7.02%

Volatility and Risk

Marcus & Millichap has a beta of 1.29, meaning that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Strategic Investment has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

62.8% of Marcus & Millichap shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of American Strategic Investment shares are held by institutional investors. 39.9% of Marcus & Millichap shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of American Strategic Investment shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Marcus & Millichap beats American Strategic Investment on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marcus & Millichap

Marcus & Millichap, Inc. engages in the provision of investment real estate brokerage services. It specializes in commercial real estate investment sales, property financing, research, and advisory services. The company was founded by George M. Marcus and William A. Millichap in 1971 and is headquartered in Calabasas, CA.

About American Strategic Investment

American Strategic Investment Co. (NYSE: NYC) owns a portfolio of high-quality commercial real estate located within the five boroughs of New York City.