Reviewing Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) & Strawberry Fields REIT (NASDAQ:STRW)

Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) and Strawberry Fields REIT (NASDAQ:STRW) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Commonwealth and Strawberry Fields REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Commonwealth	82.00%	2.09%	1.96%
Strawberry Fields REIT	2.98%	6.64%	0.52%

Volatility & Risk

Equity Commonwealth has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Strawberry Fields REIT has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Equity Commonwealth and Strawberry Fields REIT, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Commonwealth	0	0	0	0	0.00
Strawberry Fields REIT	0	1	0	1	3.00

Strawberry Fields REIT has a consensus price target of $11.83, suggesting a potential upside of 13.27%. Given Strawberry Fields REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Strawberry Fields REIT is more favorable than Equity Commonwealth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Equity Commonwealth and Strawberry Fields REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Commonwealth	$58.43 million	2.90	$91.16 million	$0.39	4.05
Strawberry Fields REIT	$126.56 million	1.03	$2.50 million	$0.58	18.00

Equity Commonwealth has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Strawberry Fields REIT. Equity Commonwealth is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Strawberry Fields REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.0% of Equity Commonwealth shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Equity Commonwealth shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of Strawberry Fields REIT shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Strawberry Fields REIT beats Equity Commonwealth on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equity Commonwealth

Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) is a Chicago based, internally managed and self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) with commercial office properties in the United States. EQC's portfolio is comprised of four properties totaling 1.5 million square feet.

About Strawberry Fields REIT

Strawberry Fields REIT, Inc. engages in the ownership, acquisition, development, and leasing of skilled nursing and certain other healthcare-related properties. The company was founded by Moishe Gubin in 2014 and is headquartered in South Bend, IN.