Critical Analysis: Colliers International Group (NASDAQ:CIGI) versus Boston Omaha (NYSE:BOC)

Colliers International Group (NASDAQ:CIGI) and Boston Omaha (NYSE:BOC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Colliers International Group and Boston Omaha”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Colliers International Group	$4.82 billion	1.65	$161.73 million	$2.20	73.11
Boston Omaha	$108.28 million	3.93	-$1.29 million	$0.03	450.47

Colliers International Group has higher revenue and earnings than Boston Omaha. Colliers International Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Boston Omaha, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Colliers International Group has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boston Omaha has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Colliers International Group and Boston Omaha, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Colliers International Group	0	5	6	2	2.77
Boston Omaha	0	1	1	0	2.50

Colliers International Group presently has a consensus price target of $172.30, indicating a potential upside of 7.13%. Boston Omaha has a consensus price target of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 47.99%. Given Boston Omaha’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Boston Omaha is more favorable than Colliers International Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.1% of Colliers International Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.4% of Boston Omaha shares are held by institutional investors. 15.3% of Colliers International Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.2% of Boston Omaha shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Colliers International Group and Boston Omaha’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Colliers International Group	2.17%	20.82%	4.44%
Boston Omaha	0.68%	0.14%	0.11%

Summary

Colliers International Group beats Boston Omaha on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Colliers International Group

Colliers International Group Inc. provides commercial real estate professional and investment management services to corporate and institutional clients in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers outsourcing and advisory services, such as engineering and project management, property management, valuation, and other services, as well as loan servicing for commercial real estate clients. It also provides property management services comprising building operations and maintenance, facilities management, lease administration, property accounting and financial reporting, contract management, and construction management; and project management services, which include bid document review, construction monitoring and delivery management, contract administration and integrated cost control, development management, facility and engineering functionality, milestone and performance monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, and strategic project consulting. In addition, the company offers corporate and workplace solutions; occupier; workplace strategy; property marketing services; transaction brokerage services, including sales and leasing for corporations, financial institutions, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, governments, and individuals; and capital markets services for property sales, debt finance, mortgage investment banking services, as well as landlord and tenant representation services. Further, the company provides investment management services that consists of asset management and investor advisory services. Colliers International Group Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Boston Omaha

Boston Omaha Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the outdoor billboard advertising business in the southeast United States. It is also involved in the surety insurance and related brokerage, broadband, and asset management businesses. The company was formerly known as REO Plus, Inc. and changed its name to Boston Omaha Corporation in March 2015. Boston Omaha Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.