Head to Head Analysis: Marcus & Millichap (NYSE:MMI) & Douglas Elliman (NYSE:DOUG)

Douglas Elliman (NYSE:DOUG) and Marcus & Millichap (NYSE:MMI) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Douglas Elliman and Marcus & Millichap”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Douglas Elliman	$1.01 billion	0.14	$15.22 million	$0.17	9.26
Marcus & Millichap	$755.16 million	1.45	-$1.91 million	$0.37	78.03

Douglas Elliman has higher revenue and earnings than Marcus & Millichap. Douglas Elliman is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marcus & Millichap, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Douglas Elliman has a beta of 1.89, indicating that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marcus & Millichap has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Douglas Elliman pays an annual dividend of $0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Marcus & Millichap pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Douglas Elliman pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Marcus & Millichap pays out 135.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Douglas Elliman is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Douglas Elliman and Marcus & Millichap, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Douglas Elliman	1	2	0	0	1.67
Marcus & Millichap	1	1	0	0	1.50

Marcus & Millichap has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.01%. Given Marcus & Millichap’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Marcus & Millichap is more favorable than Douglas Elliman.

Profitability

This table compares Douglas Elliman and Marcus & Millichap’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Douglas Elliman	2.47%	-19.16%	-6.72%
Marcus & Millichap	1.77%	2.97%	2.21%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

59.6% of Douglas Elliman shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.8% of Marcus & Millichap shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.6% of Douglas Elliman shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 39.9% of Marcus & Millichap shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Marcus & Millichap beats Douglas Elliman on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Douglas Elliman

Douglas Elliman Inc. owns Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, operating as a residential brokerage company in the United States with operations in New York, Florida, California, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. In addition, Douglas Elliman sources, uses and invests in early-stage, disruptive property technology (“PropTech”) solutions and companies and provides other real estate services, including development marketing, property management and settlement and escrow services in select markets.

About Marcus & Millichap

Marcus & Millichap, Inc. engages in the provision of investment real estate brokerage services. It specializes in commercial real estate investment sales, property financing, research, and advisory services. The company was founded by George M. Marcus and William A. Millichap in 1971 and is headquartered in Calabasas, CA.