Head to Head Review: Star Equity (STRR) versus Its Peers

Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) is one of 203 public companies in the “Professional Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Star Equity to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Star Equity has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Star Equity’s competitors have a beta of 0.96, suggesting that their average share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.8% of Star Equity shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.3% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 31.6% of Star Equity shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.2% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Star Equity and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Star Equity	-4.35%	-4.21%	-2.39%
Star Equity Competitors	0.25%	36.77%	4.43%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Star Equity and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Star Equity	2	0	1	1	2.25
Star Equity Competitors	1593	6489	9187	433	2.48

Star Equity currently has a consensus target price of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 218.54%. As a group, “Professional Services” companies have a potential upside of 27.80%. Given Star Equity’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Star Equity is more favorable than its competitors.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Star Equity and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Star Equity	$172.16 million	-$5.92 million	-2.87
Star Equity Competitors	$3.30 billion	$228.39 million	37.01

Star Equity’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Star Equity. Star Equity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Star Equity competitors beat Star Equity on 10 of the 13 factors compared.

Star Equity Company Profile

Star Equity Holdings, Inc. is a diversified holding company headquartered in the United States. Formerly known as Digirad Corporation, the company adopted the Star Equity Holdings name as it expanded beyond its original healthcare operations. Through its Building Solutions segment, Star Equity provides structural wall panels, engineered wood products and related construction services for residential and commercial projects. Its operations support builders and developers with off-site and prefabricated construction products designed for use in a range of building applications.