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For the last 20 years Central Parking has had a very successful business model, reports Analyst Full article published: 05/30/2002     WILLIAM MARKS is a Director at JMP Securities LLC


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Leading analyst and top management from four sector firms examine the property services sector in this special 20-page report from The Wall Street Transcript, available at (212/952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/info/info560.htm.

TWST: Would you begin today by telling us about your coverage universe at JMP Securities?

Mr. Marks: My coverage universe is split roughly evenly between real estate service companies, what I call property services companies, and hotel and resort companies. The property services companies generally provide services to owners and users of commercial real estate; these services include leasing, sales and management of properties, as well as janitorial and parking operations. My hotel coverage is easier to grasp. I cover companies that own and manage hotels and resorts.

TWST: Do you approach the group as one industry?

Mr. Marks: No, this would not do justice to either sector. These two industries are completely different.

TWST: Looking at the property services side, how are you approaching the group today?

Mr. Marks: This group is under-covered by Wall Street, and probably for good reason. The market capitalization of the brokerage and property management side is less than $2 billion. The group is represented by only a handful of very thinly traded stocks, indicating a limited amount of interest from institutional investors. Also, the performance of these stocks has been poor over the last several years. However, most of the companies are researched by zero to three analysts, which means that there is value to be added by an analyst. I approach my research with a background of working in the commercial real estate services field for several years. I try to provide a basic understanding of the plethora of different services that these companies provide and I delve deeply into valuation.

TWST: Although we were discussing the parking market earlier, we have yet to touch on Central Parking (NYSE:CPC). Would you tell us a bit about them?

Mr. Marks: Central Parking, based in Nashville, is the largest operator of parking lots in the country. For the last 20 years it has had a very successful business model that, in particular, compensates senior employees for business development and effective operations. Recently, for the first time the company hired a new CEO. The Founder and Chairman, Monroe Carell, hired a former GE executive to run the company. We believe this was a very strong move, in part because cost cutting was long overdue. To date, Bill Vareschi has been able to control operating costs and also reduce exposure to certain areas where profit opportunities are limited. Mr. Vareschi has proactively sold property from the company’s portfolio of owned parking facilities and will use the cash to generate higher returns on investment. ABM Industries has a large parking division, but there are only two publicly traded pure play parking companies, Central Parking and a company called Imperial Parking (IPK).

TWST: As you commented, the property services sector has a small collective capitalization and minimal coverage by the Street. Is there a place for an individual investor in the property services market?

Mr. Marks: First, the sector does not provide yield, although ABM does have a small dividend. Second, we would recommend those companies with larger capitalizations and more stable operating income, preferably ABM, Central Parking and Jones Lang LaSalle. Regarding valuation, we would recommend ABM today and Jones Lang LaSalle at slightly lower prices.

This special report includes:

1) Property Services Stocks - In an in-depth (2,600 words) Analyst Interview, William Marks, Director at Jolson Merchant Partners, examines the outlook for the sector and shares specific stock recommendations.

2) CEO interviews (average 2,500 words). Top management of four sector firms examine the outlook for their firm and the sector.


Tickers included in this excerpt: CPC

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This interview is a small excerpt from a comprehensive interview published in The Wall Street Transcript on 05/27/02. For more information call (212) 952 7400. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does not make stock recommendations.

Copyright 2002, Wall Street Transcript Corp.

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