Contrasting Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) & Great Portland Estates (OTCMKTS:GPEAF)

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) and Great Portland Estates (OTCMKTS:GPEAF) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Alexander & Baldwin has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Great Portland Estates has a beta of 0.09, indicating that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Alexander & Baldwin and Great Portland Estates, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alexander & Baldwin	0	2	1	0	2.33
Great Portland Estates	0	3	0	0	2.00

Alexander & Baldwin presently has a consensus target price of $18.50, suggesting a potential upside of 10.65%. Great Portland Estates has a consensus target price of $520.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10,008.86%. Given Great Portland Estates’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Great Portland Estates is more favorable than Alexander & Baldwin.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alexander & Baldwin and Great Portland Estates’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alexander & Baldwin	$208.90 million	5.81	$29.80 million	$0.61	27.41
Great Portland Estates	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Alexander & Baldwin has higher revenue and earnings than Great Portland Estates.

Profitability

This table compares Alexander & Baldwin and Great Portland Estates’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alexander & Baldwin	20.25%	4.76%	2.82%
Great Portland Estates	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.3% of Alexander & Baldwin shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Alexander & Baldwin shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Alexander & Baldwin beats Great Portland Estates on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alexander & Baldwin

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE: ALEX) (A&B) is the only publicly-traded real estate investment trust to focus exclusively on Hawai'i commercial real estate and is the state's largest owner of grocery-anchored, neighborhood shopping centers. A&B owns, operates and manages approximately 3.9 million square feet of commercial space in Hawai'i, including 22 retail centers, 13 industrial assets and four office properties, as well as 142.0 acres of ground lease assets. A&B is expanding and strengthening its CRE portfolio and achieving its strategic focus on commercial real estate in Hawai'i. Over its 154-year history, A&B has evolved with the state's economy and played a leadership role in the development of the agricultural, transportation, tourism, construction, residential and commercial real estate industries.

About Great Portland Estates

We are a FTSE 250 property investment and development company owning £2.5 billion of real estate in central London. We proactively manage our portfolio, flexing our activities in tune with London's property cycle to deliver long-term out-performance. We create in-demand spaces that people want to be part of; helping our occupiers, local communities and the city to thrive.