Contrasting Gafisa (OTCMKTS:GFASY) and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA)

Gafisa (OTCMKTS:GFASY) and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA) are both small-cap construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Gafisa has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Gafisa and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gafisa	0	0	0	0	0.00
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	0	0	4	0	3.00

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a consensus price target of $14.80, indicating a potential upside of 32.74%. Given Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina is more favorable than Gafisa.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Gafisa and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gafisa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	$767.70 million	1.69	$169.19 million	$0.84	13.27

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has higher revenue and earnings than Gafisa.

Profitability

This table compares Gafisa and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gafisa	N/A	N/A	N/A
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	14.52%	12.51%	6.95%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.3% of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Gafisa shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina beats Gafisa on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gafisa

Gafisa S.A. operates as a development and construction company under the Gafisa brand name in Brazil. The company is involved in residential, commercial, and hotel projects. It also provides technical consultancy services, and real estate management and construction services to third parties. Gafisa S.A. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.

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.