Financial Analysis: Curbline Properties (NYSE:CURB) vs. CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO)

CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) and Curbline Properties (NYSE:CURB) are both real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

67.2% of CTO Realty Growth shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of CTO Realty Growth shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Curbline Properties shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

CTO Realty Growth has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Curbline Properties has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

CTO Realty Growth pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. Curbline Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. CTO Realty Growth pays out 111.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Curbline Properties pays out 251.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. CTO Realty Growth is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for CTO Realty Growth and Curbline Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CTO Realty Growth	0	0	5	2	3.29
Curbline Properties	0	3	6	0	2.67

CTO Realty Growth currently has a consensus price target of $24.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.79%. Curbline Properties has a consensus price target of $31.11, indicating a potential upside of 4.54%. Given CTO Realty Growth’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe CTO Realty Growth is more favorable than Curbline Properties.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CTO Realty Growth and Curbline Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CTO Realty Growth	$149.54 million	5.49	$10.09 million	$1.36	16.11
Curbline Properties	$182.89 million	18.72	$39.83 million	$0.27	110.22

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

Profitability

This table compares CTO Realty Growth and Curbline Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CTO Realty Growth	32.63%	8.90%	4.05%
Curbline Properties	13.10%	1.50%	1.13%

Summary

CTO Realty Growth beats Curbline Properties on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CTO Realty Growth

CTO Realty Growth, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and operates a portfolio of high-quality, retail-based properties located primarily in higher growth markets in the United States. CTO also externally manages and owns a meaningful interest in Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PINE), a publicly traded net lease REIT.

About Curbline Properties

Curbline Properties Corp. is a real estate investment trust which is an owner and manager of convenience shopping centers positioned on the curbline of well-trafficked intersections and major vehicular corridors in suburban. Curbline Properties Corp. is based in NEW YORK.