Financial Comparison: M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO) & Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA)

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA) and M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.3% of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.1% of M/I Homes shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of M/I Homes shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and M/I Homes’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	5.67%	4.40%	2.46%
M/I Homes	10.56%	15.72%	10.26%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and M/I Homes”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	$767.70 million	1.72	$169.19 million	$0.31	36.55
M/I Homes	$4.48 billion	0.73	$563.72 million	$17.03	7.31

M/I Homes has higher revenue and earnings than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina. M/I Homes is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and M/I Homes, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	0	1	4	0	2.80
M/I Homes	0	2	1	2	3.00

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina presently has a consensus price target of $14.80, suggesting a potential upside of 30.63%. M/I Homes has a consensus price target of $155.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.54%. Given Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina is more favorable than M/I Homes.

Risk & Volatility

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, M/I Homes has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

M/I Homes beats Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina

Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cement and its derivatives in Argentina. The company operates through Cement, Masonry Cement and Lime; Concrete; Railroad; Aggregates; and Others segments. It offers masonry cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, concrete, and lime to wholesale distributors, concrete producers, industrial customers, and others for use in the construction. The company also provides rail transportation services; and treats and recycles industrial waste for use as fuel and raw material. It markets its products under the Loma Negra, San Martín, Plasticor, Cacique Plus, Cacique Max, Loma Negra Plus, and Lomax brands. The company was founded in 1926 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima is a subsidiary of Intercement Trading E Inversiones Argentina Sociedad Limitada.

About M/I Homes

M/I Homes, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction and sale of single-family residential homes in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The company operates through Northern Homebuilding, Southern Homebuilding, and Financial Services segments. It also designs, constructs, markets, and sells single-family homes and attached townhomes to first-time, millennial, move-up, empty-nester, multi-generational, and luxury homebuyers under the M/I Homes brand name. In addition, the company purchases undeveloped land to develop into developed lots for the construction of single-family homes, as well as for sale to others. Further, the company originates and sells mortgages; and serves as a title insurance agent by providing title insurance policies, examination, and closing services to purchasers of its homes. M/I Homes, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.