Head-To-Head Contrast: JBG SMITH Properties (NYSE:JBGS) and Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG)

JBG SMITH Properties (NYSE:JBGS) and Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares JBG SMITH Properties and Claros Mortgage Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JBG SMITH Properties	-27.89%	-10.61%	-3.08%
Claros Mortgage Trust	-260.38%	-15.72%	-4.84%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.5% of JBG SMITH Properties shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 11.9% of JBG SMITH Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares JBG SMITH Properties and Claros Mortgage Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JBG SMITH Properties	$498.60 million	1.88	-$139.06 million	($2.11)	-7.52
Claros Mortgage Trust	$92.33 million	4.08	-$489.07 million	($3.49)	-0.77

JBG SMITH Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Claros Mortgage Trust. JBG SMITH Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Claros Mortgage Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

JBG SMITH Properties has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Claros Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

JBG SMITH Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Claros Mortgage Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.9%. JBG SMITH Properties pays out -33.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Claros Mortgage Trust pays out -11.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for JBG SMITH Properties and Claros Mortgage Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JBG SMITH Properties	2	0	0	0	1.00
Claros Mortgage Trust	3	0	1	0	1.50

JBG SMITH Properties presently has a consensus price target of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.54%. Claros Mortgage Trust has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.73%. Given JBG SMITH Properties’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe JBG SMITH Properties is more favorable than Claros Mortgage Trust.

Summary

JBG SMITH Properties beats Claros Mortgage Trust on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JBG SMITH Properties

JBG SMITH Properties is a real estate investment trust, which engages in owning, operating, investing in, and developing a portfolio of mixed-use properties. It operates through the following segments: Multifamily, Commercial, and Other. The Multifamily segment refers to the commercial buildings with public areas, retail spaces, and walkable streets. The Commercial segment rents to federal government tenants. The Other segment relates to development assets, corporate entities, land assets for which are the ground lessor and the elimination of inter-segment activity. The company was founded on October 27, 2016, and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.

About Claros Mortgage Trust

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust. It focuses on originating senior and subordinate loans on transitional commercial real estate assets in the United States. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. As a result, it would not be subject to corporate income tax on that portion of its net income that is distributed to shareholders. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in New York, New York.