Head to Head Analysis: UNITE Group (OTCMKTS:UTGPF) versus Star (NASDAQ:STHO)

Star (NASDAQ:STHO) and UNITE Group (OTCMKTS:UTGPF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Star has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UNITE Group has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.3% of Star shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of Star shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Star and UNITE Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Star	$110.14 million	1.00	-$64.25 million	($5.17)	-1.76
UNITE Group	$438.80 million	7.07	$128.71 million	N/A	N/A

UNITE Group has higher revenue and earnings than Star.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Star and UNITE Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Star	1	0	0	0	1.00
UNITE Group	0	3	1	1	2.60

Profitability

This table compares Star and UNITE Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Star	-57.45%	1.18%	0.58%
UNITE Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

UNITE Group beats Star on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Star

Star Holdings engages in the non-ground lease related commercial real estate businesses in the United States. Its portfolio primarily comprises interest in the Asbury Park Waterfront and Magnolia Green residential development projects. Star Holdings is based in New York, New York.

About UNITE Group

Unite Students is the UK's largest owner, manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation serving the country's world-leading Higher Education sector. Following our successful £1.4bn acquisition of Liberty Living's UK assets in November 2019, we now provide homes to 76,000 students across 177 properties in 27 leading university towns and cities. Our people are driven by a common purpose: to provide a 'Home for Success' for the students who live with us and to be the most trusted brand in the sector. We do this through quality service, quality people and quality properties, all designed on the basis of an excellent insight into students' needs and preferences. Unite's accommodation is high quality, affordable, safe and secure, and located where students want to live. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security and high-speed Wi-Fi. MyUnite, our mobile app, provides practical support such as instant messaging and maintenance requests. We hold a five-star British Safety Council audit rating (out of five) following an Occupational Health and Safety audit. The audit measured our performance against a number of key safety management indicators, providing an international benchmark for safety management systems and indicating best practice for continual improvement. Our commitment to customer service is powered by an innovative, in-house operating platform. It provides a wide range of benefits to our students, such as an optimised online booking process, as well as providing us with a unique ability to drive value from our portfolio through scale efficiencies and revenue management. Our other strategic priority is delivering growing and sustainable earnings, underpinned by a strong capital structure. A key part of this strategy is growing the number of beds let through partnerships with the strongest UK universities which are experiencing record levels of student demand. We currently partner with 60 universities across the UK, guaranteeing that 52% of our rooms are let under 'nomination agreements' providing high visibility of forward occupancy and rental growth. Unite Students has spent years helping young people thrive in new situations and help them manage the big ’Leap' to university life. Our insight has identified a significant gap between student expectations and reality. To support this leap, we have developed the Leapskills programme, helping to prepare prospective students for independent living. The programme introduces students to a number of student life scenarios to provoke group discussion on conflict resolution, problem solving and gives a general insight into shared living to help closer match expectations to reality. Unite is the founder of and major donor to the Unite Foundation, a charitable trust established to support talented students facing challenging financial circumstances through the provision of free accommodation scholarships. The Foundation has so far provided scholarships for 434 young people working in close collaboration with 27 partner universities. Unite is invested in and operates two specialist funds and joint ventures with institutional investment partners: the £3 billion Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF), and the £1 billion London Student Accommodation Vehicle (LSAV). Founded in 1991 in Bristol, Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange and a member of the FTSE 250 Index.