Analyzing Douglas Elliman (NYSE:DOUG) & CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP)

Douglas Elliman (NYSE:DOUG) and CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Douglas Elliman and CoStar Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Douglas Elliman	1	2	0	0	1.67
CoStar Group	2	8	10	0	2.40

CoStar Group has a consensus price target of $39.11, indicating a potential upside of 29.92%. Given CoStar Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CoStar Group is more favorable than Douglas Elliman.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Douglas Elliman and CoStar Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Douglas Elliman	$1.03 billion	0.15	$15.22 million	$0.54	3.14
CoStar Group	$3.25 billion	3.73	$7.00 million	$0.44	68.41

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

59.6% of Douglas Elliman shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.6% of CoStar Group shares are held by institutional investors. 9.6% of Douglas Elliman shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of CoStar Group 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.

Profitability

This table compares Douglas Elliman and CoStar Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Douglas Elliman	5.73%	-22.15%	-8.67%
CoStar Group	4.87%	4.87%	3.82%

Risk and Volatility

Douglas Elliman has a beta of 1.87, meaning that its share price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CoStar Group has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CoStar Group beats Douglas Elliman on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Douglas Elliman

Douglas Elliman Inc. is a residential real estate services company whose principal business is operating Douglas Elliman Realty, a brokerage serving buyers, sellers, renters and property owners. Its agents handle residential sales and rentals, including luxury properties, and the company also markets new residential developments. The brokerage traces its roots to 1911 and serves markets across the United States, including New York, Florida, California and other regions. It also connects clients with international markets through referral relationships.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc. is a provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. Its services help real estate professionals, investors, lenders and businesses research properties, evaluate markets and connect with buyers, sellers and tenants. The company’s brands include CoStar, which provides commercial property data and research; LoopNet, a commercial property marketplace; Apartments.com, a rental listings platform; and STR, which supplies benchmarking data for the hospitality industry.