Analyzing Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) & Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) and Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Dividends

Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Saul Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Cousins Properties pays out 261.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Saul Centers pays out 136.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Saul Centers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Saul Centers has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.0% of Saul Centers shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Cousins Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 56.6% of Saul Centers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Cousins Properties and Saul Centers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cousins Properties	7.25%	1.31%	0.77%
Saul Centers	20.49%	16.61%	2.69%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Cousins Properties and Saul Centers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cousins Properties	1	1	5	0	2.57
Saul Centers	0	0	1	0	3.00

Cousins Properties presently has a consensus target price of $28.29, suggesting a potential downside of 3.33%. Saul Centers has a consensus target price of $45.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.68%. Given Saul Centers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Saul Centers is more favorable than Cousins Properties.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cousins Properties and Saul Centers”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cousins Properties	$818.05 million	5.39	$82.96 million	$0.49	59.12
Saul Centers	$264.08 million	3.66	$52.69 million	$1.73	23.28

Cousins Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Saul Centers. Saul Centers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cousins Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Saul Centers beats Cousins Properties on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments.

About Saul Centers

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties. Over 85% of the Company’s property operating income is generated from properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.