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Analyst favors Jones Lang LaSalle on the brokers and property managers side Full article published: 05/31/2002     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: How did the property services stocks perform in 2001 and year to date 2002?

Mr. Marks: The brokers and property managers were down 4% on average in 2001 but are up 20% in 2002. However, the stocks are down 32% from January 1, 1999. Recent strength is largely due to strong performances from Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) and Trammell Crow (NYSE:TCC).

TWST: Are there any stocks investors might be able to get involved with today? What are your top stock picks?

Mr. Marks: To date I have been fairly cautious about many of the service companies that provide leasing, sales and management in particular, because I do not see a quick recovery. The recovery from this sector may lag that of other sectors of the economy, with a strong pickup in earnings in 2004 rather than 2003. We like a company called ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM), which does provide some of the services we mentioned, including its market leadership in the janitorial service business. As for brokers and property managers, we like Jones Lang LaSalle, the largest property manager in the world, and one of the top asset managers in the world. The company has recently been able to secure large contracts with Fortune 500 companies. These contracts allow Jones Lang LaSalle to generate more stable income than that of certain competitors who rely on more transactional income. The company seeks clients that need multiple real estate services in multiple markets around the world.

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: JLL

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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.

SECTOR LINKS

  • Banks/Brokers
  • Insurance
  • Real Estate/REITs


     

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