Head-To-Head Analysis: WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) & American Realty Investors (NYSE:ARL)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for American Realty Investors and WillScot, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Realty Investors	0	1	0	0	2.00
WillScot	1	6	3	0	2.20

WillScot has a consensus price target of $25.50, suggesting a potential upside of 41.75%. Given WillScot’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WillScot is more favorable than American Realty Investors.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares American Realty Investors and WillScot”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Realty Investors	$50.01 million	4.91	-$14.70 million	$0.97	15.68
WillScot	$2.28 billion	1.43	-$52.99 million	($0.30)	-59.97

American Realty Investors has higher earnings, but lower revenue than WillScot. WillScot 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.

Volatility and Risk

American Realty Investors has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WillScot has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.8% of WillScot shares are held by institutional investors. 90.8% of American Realty Investors shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of WillScot shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Realty Investors	31.40%	0.16%	0.12%
WillScot	-2.32%	20.42%	3.37%

Summary

WillScot beats American Realty Investors on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About WillScot

WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers. The company leases modular space and portable storage units to customers in the construction, commercial and industrial, retail and wholesale trade, energy and natural resources, education, government and institutions, and healthcare markets. The company offers its solutions primarily under the WillScot and Mobile Mini brand names. The company was formerly known as WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. and changed its name to WillScot Holdings Corporation in July 2024. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.