Comparing Bimini Capital Management (OTCMKTS:BMNM) & Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR)

Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) and Bimini Capital Management (OTCMKTS:BMNM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Arbor Realty Trust and Bimini Capital Management, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Arbor Realty Trust	4	1	1	0	1.50
Bimini Capital Management	0	0	0	0	0.00

Arbor Realty Trust currently has a consensus price target of $7.38, suggesting a potential upside of 48.54%. Given Arbor Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Arbor Realty Trust is more favorable than Bimini Capital Management.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Arbor Realty Trust and Bimini Capital Management”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Arbor Realty Trust	$940.01 million	1.02	$148.80 million	$0.39	12.73
Bimini Capital Management	$16.89 million	1.34	$5.80 million	$0.60	3.75

Arbor Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Bimini Capital Management. Bimini Capital Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Arbor Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Arbor Realty Trust and Bimini Capital Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Arbor Realty Trust	12.73%	8.49%	1.46%
Bimini Capital Management	32.69%	56.67%	5.19%

Volatility & Risk

Arbor Realty Trust has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bimini Capital Management has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its share price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

57.3% of Arbor Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Arbor Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 45.8% of Bimini Capital Management shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Arbor Realty Trust beats Bimini Capital Management on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Arbor Realty Trust

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. invests in a diversified portfolio of structured finance assets in the multifamily, single-family rental, and commercial real estate markets in the United States. The company operates through Structured Business and Agency Business segments. It primarily invests in bridge and mezzanine loans, including junior participating interests in first mortgages, and preferred and direct equity, as well as real estate-related joint ventures, real estate-related notes, and various mortgage-related securities. In addition, the company offers bridge financing products to borrowers who seek short-term capital to be used in an acquisition of property; financing by making preferred equity investments in entities that directly or indirectly own real property; mezzanine financing in the form of loans that are subordinate to a conventional first mortgage loan and senior to the borrower’s equity in a transaction; junior participation financing in the form of a junior participating interest in the senior debt; and financing products to borrowers who are looking to acquire conventional, workforce, and affordable single-family housing. Further, it underwrites, originates, sells, and services multifamily mortgage loans through conduit/commercial mortgage-backed securities programs. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Uniondale, New York.

About Bimini Capital Management

Bimini Capital Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Asset Management and Investment Portfolio. The Asset Management segment includes investment advisory services by Bimini Advisors to Orchid Island Capital, Inc. and Royal Palm Capital, LLC. The Investment Portfolio segment engages in investment activities conducted by Royal Palm Capital, LLC. It invests in residential mortgage-backed securities. The company was formerly known as Opteum Inc. and changed its name to Bimini Capital Management, Inc. in September 2007. Bimini Capital Management, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is based in Vero Beach, Florida.