Comparing Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) and Alexander’s (NYSE:ALX)

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) and Alexander’s (NYSE:ALX) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Cousins Properties and Alexander’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cousins Properties	-0.52%	-0.11%	-0.06%
Alexander’s	9.72%	17.38%	1.71%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Cousins Properties and Alexander’s, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cousins Properties	1	2	6	0	2.56
Alexander’s	0	2	0	0	2.00

Cousins Properties currently has a consensus price target of $28.73, suggesting a potential upside of 0.60%. Given Cousins Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cousins Properties is more favorable than Alexander’s.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cousins Properties and Alexander’s”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cousins Properties	$993.82 million	4.73	$40.50 million	($0.03)	-951.90
Alexander’s	$213.18 million	6.21	$28.22 million	$4.00	64.80

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

Volatility and Risk

Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alexander’s has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Alexander’s pays an annual dividend of $18.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. Cousins Properties pays out -4,266.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alexander’s pays out 450.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Alexander’s has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Alexander’s is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.0% of Alexander’s shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.4% of Alexander’s shares are owned by company 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.

Summary

Alexander’s beats Cousins Properties on 9 of the 17 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 Alexander’s

Alexander’s, Inc. (NYSE: ALX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT), incorporated in Delaware, engaged in leasing, managing, developing and redeveloping its properties. All references to we, us, our, Company and Alexander’s refer to Alexander’s, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. We are managed by, and our properties are leased and developed by, Vornado Realty Trust (Vornado) (NYSE: VNO). We have five properties in New York City.