Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc. Stock Upgraded (MLP)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Maui Land & Pineapple Company (NYSE:MLP) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in stock price during the past year, impressive record of earnings per share growth and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's profit margins have been poor overall.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, reflecting both the market's overall trend during that period and the fact that the company's earnings growth has been robust. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.
• MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. During the past fiscal year, MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO turned its bottom line around by earning $0.52 versus -$11.00 in the prior year.
• Even though the debt-to-equity ratio shows mixed results, the company's quick ratio of 0.42 is very low and demonstrates very weak liquidity.
• The company, on the basis of net income growth from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed compared to the Real Estate Management & Development industry average, but is greater than that of the S&P 500. The net income increased by 46.3% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$4.59 million to -$2.46 million.
• The gross profit margin for MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE CO is currently lower than what is desirable, coming in at 31.20%. Regardless of MLP's low profit margin, it has managed to increase from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, MLP's net profit margin of -47.10% significantly underperformed when compared to the industry average.

Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. develops, sells, and manages residential, resort, commercial, and industrial real estate. It owns approximately 23,000 acres of land on Maui and operates retail, utility operations, and a nature preserve at the Kapalua Resort. The company has a P/E ratio of 2.7, above the average real estate industry P/E ratio of 1.7 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Maui Land & Pineapple has a market cap of $83.4 million and is part of the financial sector and real estate industry. Shares are down 11.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Maui Land & Pineapple Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

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• Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc. Ratio Comparison

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• Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc. Cash Flow

• Maui Land & Pineapple Company Inc. Income Statement