Head to Head Contrast: J. W. Mays (NASDAQ:MAYS) versus Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN)

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

Risk and Volatility

J. W. Mays has a beta of -0.1, meaning that its stock price is 110% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Redfin has a beta of 2.38, meaning that its stock price is 138% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

3.2% of J. W. Mays shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of Redfin shares are held by institutional investors. 35.2% of J. W. Mays shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Redfin shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for J. W. Mays and Redfin, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J. W. Mays	0	0	0	0	0.00
Redfin	1	11	1	1	2.14

Redfin has a consensus price target of $10.45, indicating a potential downside of 7.52%. Given Redfin’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Redfin is more favorable than J. W. Mays.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J. W. Mays	$21.59 million	3.59	-$410,000.00	($0.04)	-959.25
Redfin	$1.04 billion	1.39	-$164.80 million	($1.53)	-7.39

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J. W. Mays	-0.34%	-0.14%	-0.08%
Redfin	-18.35%	N/A	-17.24%

Summary

Redfin beats J. W. Mays on 9 of the 15 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 Redfin

Redfin Corporation operates as a residential real estate brokerage company in the United States and Canada. The company operates an online real estate marketplace and provides real estate services, including assisting individuals in the purchase or sell of home. It also provides title and settlement services; and originates and sells mortgages. In addition, the company uses digital platforms to connect consumers with rental properties. The company was formerly known as Appliance Computing Inc. and changed its name to Redfin Corporation in May 2006. Redfin Corporation was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.