Critical Review: Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLR) and Horizon Group (OTCMKTS:HGPI)

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLR) and Horizon Group (OTCMKTS:HGPI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust and Horizon Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	$99.44 million	0.02	$8.77 million	($3,552.70)	0.00
Horizon Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Horizon Group.

Profitability

This table compares Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust and Horizon Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	3.26%	-25.43%	0.53%
Horizon Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Horizon Group has a beta of -0.15, suggesting that its stock price is 115% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust and Horizon Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00
Horizon Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.3% of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 51.9% of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.9% of Horizon Group shares are held 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.

Summary

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust beats Horizon Group on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. is a fully integrated, self-managed commercial real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and operating income-producing retail properties with a primary focus on grocery-anchored centers.

About Horizon Group

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Horizon Group Properties, Inc. has 12 operating factory outlet centers and one power center in 10 states totaling more than 2.6 million square feet.