Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT) vs. CBL & Associates Properties (OTCMKTS:CBLAQ) Financial Contrast

CBL & Associates Properties (OTCMKTS:CBLAQ) and Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.0% of Ashford Hospitality Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 20.1% of CBL & Associates Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Ashford Hospitality Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CBL & Associates Properties and Ashford Hospitality Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CBL & Associates Properties	$535.29 million	N/A	$6.55 million	N/A	N/A
Ashford Hospitality Trust	$1.28 billion	0.02	-$178.49 million	($3.17)	-0.22

CBL & Associates Properties has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ashford Hospitality Trust.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for CBL & Associates Properties and Ashford Hospitality Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CBL & Associates Properties	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ashford Hospitality Trust	0	1	0	0	2.00

Ashford Hospitality Trust has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 257.30%. Given Ashford Hospitality Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ashford Hospitality Trust is more favorable than CBL & Associates Properties.

Profitability

This table compares CBL & Associates Properties and Ashford Hospitality Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CBL & Associates Properties	5.66%	9.16%	1.23%
Ashford Hospitality Trust	2.25%	-10.52%	0.82%

Summary

CBL & Associates Properties beats Ashford Hospitality Trust on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CBL & Associates Properties

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which owns and operates retail properties. The firm engages in owning, developing, acquiring, leasing, managing and operating regional shopping malls, open-air centers, community centers and office properties. It operates through Malls and All Other segments. Its properties include Malls, Associated Centers, Community Centers, Office Buildings, Construction Properties and Mortgages. The company was founded on July 13, 1993 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, TN.

About Ashford Hospitality Trust

Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels.