Head-To-Head Review: J. W. Mays (NASDAQ:MAYS) versus Tejon Ranch (NYSE:TRC)

Tejon Ranch (NYSE:TRC) and J. W. Mays (NASDAQ:MAYS) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Tejon Ranch and J. W. Mays, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tejon Ranch	0	1	0	0	2.00
J. W. Mays	1	0	0	0	1.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Tejon Ranch and J. W. Mays”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tejon Ranch	$49.59 million	9.32	$80,000.00	$0.29	58.97
J. W. Mays	$21.09 million	4.03	-$1.40 million	($0.70)	-60.21

Tejon Ranch has higher revenue and earnings than J. W. Mays. J. W. Mays is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tejon Ranch, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Tejon Ranch and J. W. Mays’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tejon Ranch	11.36%	1.56%	1.20%
J. W. Mays	-6.64%	-2.70%	-1.55%

Risk and Volatility

Tejon Ranch has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J. W. Mays has a beta of 0.2, indicating that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

60.6% of Tejon Ranch shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.2% of J. W. Mays shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.9% of Tejon Ranch shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 40.8% of J. W. Mays shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Tejon Ranch beats J. W. Mays on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tejon Ranch

Tejon Ranch Co., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified real estate development and agribusiness company. It operates through five segments: Commercial/Industrial Real Estate Development, Resort/Residential Real Estate Development, Mineral Resources, Farming, and Ranch Operations. The Commercial/Industrial Real Estate Development segment engages in the planning and permitting of land for development; construction of infrastructure projects, pre-leased buildings, and buildings to be leased or sold; and sale of land to third parties for their own development. It is also involved in the activities related to communications leases, a power plant lease, and landscape maintenance. This segment leases land to various auto service stations with convenience stores, fast-food operations, service diner-style restaurant, a motel, an antique shop, and a post office; various microwave repeater locations, radio and cellular transmitter sites, and fiber optic cable routes; and package of land for an electric power plant. The Resort/Residential Real Estate Development segment engages in land entitlement, planning, pre-construction engineering, stewardship, and conservation activities. The Mineral Resources segment includes oil and gas royalties, rock and aggregate royalties, and royalties from a cement operation leased to National Cement Company of California, Inc.; and the management of water assets and infrastructure projects. The Farming segment farms permanent crops, such as wine grapes, almonds, and pistachios in package of land. It also manages the farming of alfalfa and forage mix on package of land in the Antelope Valley; and leases package of land for growing vegetables, as well as almonds. The Ranch Operations segment provides game management and ancillary land services comprising grazing leases and filming, as well as various guided hunts. Tejon Ranch Co. was founded in 1843 and is based in Lebec, California.

About J. W. Mays

J.W. Mays, Inc. owns, operates, and leases commercial real estate properties in United States. The company's properties are located in Brooklyn, Jamaica, Fishkill, Levittown, and Massapequa of New York; and Circleville of Ohio. The company was founded in 1924 and is based in Brooklyn, New York.