Contrasting HG (OTCMKTS:STLY) & RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

HG (OTCMKTS:STLY) and RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

HG has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RLJ Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.74, suggesting that its stock price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares HG and RLJ Lodging Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HG	23.69%	12.16%	8.39%
RLJ Lodging Trust	5.90%	3.72%	1.54%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for HG and RLJ Lodging Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HG	0	0	0	0	N/A
RLJ Lodging Trust	0	4	2	0	2.33

RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus target price of $14.43, indicating a potential upside of 42.86%. Given RLJ Lodging Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe RLJ Lodging Trust is more favorable than HG.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares HG and RLJ Lodging Trust’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HG	$14.48 million	1.34	$3.74 million	$1.38	4.89
RLJ Lodging Trust	$1.29 billion	1.24	$41.92 million	$0.32	31.69

RLJ Lodging Trust has higher revenue and earnings than HG. HG is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RLJ Lodging Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.7% of HG shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 35.4% of HG shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

RLJ Lodging Trust beats HG on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HG

HG Holdings, Inc. engages in the title insurance and real estate businesses in the United States. It operates through four segments: Title Insurance Services, Reinsurance, Management Services, and Real Estate. The company provides title insurance, closing and/or escrow, and similar or related services in connection with residential and commercial real estate transactions. It also owns and operates a portfolio of single-tenant properties leased for the occupancy by U.S. government tenant agencies and sub-agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veterans affairs, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Transportation. In addition, the company provides excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage related to catastrophic weather risk in Texas; and management advisory services, such as formation, operational, and restructuring services. The company was formerly known as Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. and changed its name to HG Holdings, Inc. in March 2018. HG Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.