Reviewing AMREP (NYSE:AXR) and La Rosa (NASDAQ:LRHC)

La Rosa (NASDAQ:LRHC) and AMREP (NYSE:AXR) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares La Rosa and AMREP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
La Rosa	-46.38%	-3,087.05%	-149.58%
AMREP	14.31%	4.21%	4.09%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for La Rosa and AMREP, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
La Rosa	1	0	0	0	1.00
AMREP	0	3	0	0	2.00

AMREP has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.42%. Given AMREP’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe AMREP is more favorable than La Rosa.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares La Rosa and AMREP”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
La Rosa	$68.51 million	0.01	-$30.55 million	($3,705.40)	-0.00
AMREP	$52.85 million	1.99	$10.29 million	$1.08	18.28

AMREP has lower revenue, but higher earnings than La Rosa. La Rosa is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AMREP, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

La Rosa has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AMREP has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.6% of La Rosa shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.9% of AMREP shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.8% of La Rosa shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.4% of AMREP shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

AMREP beats La Rosa on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About La Rosa

La Rosa Holdings Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates primarily in the residential real estate market in the United States. The company operates through five segments: Real Estate Brokerage Services (Residential), Franchising Services, Coaching Services, Property Management, and Real Estate Brokerage Services (Commercial). It delivers coaching services to its brokers and franchisee's brokers; and franchises real estate brokerage agencies. The company also engages in the residential and commercial real estate brokerage business; and property management services to owners of single-family residential properties. La Rosa Holdings Corp. was founded in 2004 and is based in Celebration, Florida.

About AMREP

AMREP Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the real estate business. The company operates through two segments, Land Development and Homebuilding. It sells developed and undeveloped lots to homebuilders, commercial and industrial property developers, and others. In addition, the company owns mineral interests covering an area of approximately 55,000 surface acres of land in Sandoval County, New Mexico; and owns oil, gas, and minerals and mineral interests covering an area of approximately 147 surface acres of land in Brighton, Colorado. Further, the company focuses on selling single-family detached homes and attached homes. As of April 30, 2023, it owned approximately 17,000 acres in Sandoval County, New Mexico. The company owns an approximately 160-acre property in Brighton, Colorado. AMREP Corporation was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Havertown, Pennsylvania.