Comparing Bimini Capital Management (OTCMKTS:BMNM) and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLR)

Bimini Capital Management (OTCMKTS:BMNM) and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Bimini Capital Management and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bimini Capital Management	-45.47%	-54.34%	-4.32%
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	-10.98%	N/A	-1.70%

Volatility and Risk

Bimini Capital Management has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 1.58, indicating that its share price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.3% of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 42.7% of Bimini Capital Management shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 40.6% of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned by company 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 Bimini Capital Management and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bimini Capital Management	$13.60 million	0.65	-$3.98 million	($0.47)	-1.86
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	$103.61 million	0.01	-$4.69 million	($4,458.03)	0.00

Bimini Capital Management has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust. Bimini Capital Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Bimini Capital Management and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bimini Capital Management	0	0	0	0	N/A
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	0	N/A

Dividends

Bimini Capital Management pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.9%. Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 70.3%. Bimini Capital Management pays out -27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 0.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust beats Bimini Capital Management on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. is a fully integrated, self-managed commercial real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and operating income-producing retail properties with a primary focus on grocery-anchored centers.