Financial Survey: Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) vs. Gadsden Properties (OTCMKTS:GADS)

Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) and Gadsden Properties (OTCMKTS:GADS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Apartment Investment and Management and Gadsden Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apartment Investment and Management	125.34%	-98.07%	-7.13%
Gadsden Properties	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Apartment Investment and Management and Gadsden Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apartment Investment and Management	$208.68 million	4.07	-$102.47 million	$1.72	3.43
Gadsden Properties	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Gadsden Properties has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Apartment Investment and Management.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.3% of Apartment Investment and Management shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of Apartment Investment and Management shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Gadsden Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Apartment Investment and Management and Gadsden Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apartment Investment and Management	1	0	1	0	2.00
Gadsden Properties	0	0	0	0	0.00

Apartment Investment and Management currently has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 69.64%. Given Apartment Investment and Management’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Apartment Investment and Management is more favorable than Gadsden Properties.

Risk & Volatility

Apartment Investment and Management has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gadsden Properties has a beta of -8.8, meaning that its stock price is 980% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Apartment Investment and Management beats Gadsden Properties on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Apartment Investment and Management

Apartment Investment & Management Co. operates as a real estate investment trust that engages in the acquisition, ownership, management and redevelopment of apartment properties. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.

About Gadsden Properties

Gadsden Properties, Inc. is a Nevada corporation that was formed on December 28, 2010. Gadsden concentrates primarily on investments in high quality income-producing assets, residential developments and other opportunistic commercial properties in secondary and tertiary markets across the United States. The Company derives value from smaller, flexible retail investments that range from $5 million to $50 million and off-market mixed-use properties ranging from $50 million to $250 million. As a result of this chosen strategy, we believe that Gadsden is developing a unique competitive advantage that generally allows the Company to invest in markets and assets that are often overlooked by larger institutional investors, such as publicly-traded REITs and other large institutional investors. As part of its strategy, Gadsden attracts specific sellers that prefer the tax deferral advantages offered through issuing operating partnership units in exchange for their properties. These real estate assets are typically operated by independent owners that are seeking to monetize their real estate holdings, and who are typically not well capitalized or well-seasoned real estate operators. These transactions create a variety of outcomes for Gadsden and the sellers typically resulting in lease-up and value-added opportunities that may not be otherwise achieved.