Head-To-Head Analysis: Star Equity (STRR) versus Its Peers

Star Equity (NASDAQ:STRR) is one of 203 publicly-traded companies in the “Professional Services” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Star Equity to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.8% of Star Equity shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.3% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 31.6% of Star Equity shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.2% of shares of all “Professional Services” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Star Equity and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Star Equity	$172.16 million	-$5.92 million	-2.87
Star Equity Competitors	$3.30 billion	$228.39 million	37.01

Star Equity’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Star Equity. Star Equity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Star Equity has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Star Equity’s peers have a beta of 0.96, suggesting that their average stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Star Equity and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Star Equity	2	0	1	1	2.25
Star Equity Competitors	1593	6489	9187	433	2.48

Star Equity presently has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 218.54%. As a group, “Professional Services” companies have a potential upside of 27.80%. Given Star Equity’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Star Equity is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Star Equity and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Star Equity	-4.35%	-4.21%	-2.39%
Star Equity Competitors	0.25%	36.77%	4.43%

Summary

Star Equity peers beat Star Equity on 10 of the 13 factors compared.

Star Equity Company Profile

Star Equity Holdings, Inc. is a diversified holding company headquartered in the United States. Formerly known as Digirad Corporation, the company adopted the Star Equity Holdings name as it expanded beyond its original healthcare operations. Through its Building Solutions segment, Star Equity provides structural wall panels, engineered wood products and related construction services for residential and commercial projects. Its operations support builders and developers with off-site and prefabricated construction products designed for use in a range of building applications.