Legacy Housing (NASDAQ:LEGH) and J. W. Mays (NASDAQ:MAYS) Financial Review

J. W. Mays (NASDAQ:MAYS) and Legacy Housing (NASDAQ:LEGH) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares J. W. Mays and Legacy Housing’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J. W. Mays	-5.37%	-2.21%	-1.30%
Legacy Housing	26.01%	8.08%	7.44%

Risk and Volatility

J. W. Mays has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Legacy Housing has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.2% of J. W. Mays shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.3% of Legacy Housing shares are held by institutional investors. 40.8% of J. W. Mays shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 30.1% of Legacy Housing shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares J. W. Mays and Legacy Housing”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J. W. Mays	$22.47 million	3.58	-$140,000.00	($0.58)	-68.62
Legacy Housing	$164.57 million	3.81	$41.81 million	$1.78	14.82

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for J. W. Mays and Legacy Housing, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J. W. Mays	1	0	0	0	1.00
Legacy Housing	0	3	0	1	2.50

Legacy Housing has a consensus price target of $21.00, suggesting a potential downside of 20.39%. Given Legacy Housing’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Legacy Housing is more favorable than J. W. Mays.

Summary

Legacy Housing beats J. W. Mays on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Legacy Housing

Legacy Housing Corporation engages in the building, sale, and financing of manufactured homes and tiny houses primarily in the southern United States. It manufactures and provides for the transport of mobile homes, including 1 to 5 bedrooms with 1 to 3 1/2 bathrooms; and provides wholesale financing to dealers and mobile home parks, as well as retail financing to consumers. The company also offers inventory financing for its independent retailers; consumer financing for its products; and financing to manufactured housing community owners that buy or lease its products for use in their rental housing communities. In addition, it involved in financing and developing new manufactured home communities. The company markets its homes under the Legacy brand through a network of independent retailers and company-owned stores; and directly to manufactured home communities. Legacy Housing Corporation was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Bedford, Texas.