Head to Head Comparison: Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) & Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME)

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) and Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Elme Communities and Cohen & Steers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elme Communities	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cohen & Steers	28.16%	27.45%	19.70%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Elme Communities and Cohen & Steers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elme Communities	1	1	0	0	1.50
Cohen & Steers	1	0	2	0	2.33

Cohen & Steers has a consensus target price of $88.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.28%. Given Cohen & Steers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cohen & Steers is more favorable than Elme Communities.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.9% of Elme Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.5% of Cohen & Steers shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Elme Communities shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 45.4% of Cohen & Steers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Elme Communities and Cohen & Steers”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elme Communities	$206.36 million	0.76	-$154.16 million	($1.52)	-1.17
Cohen & Steers	$635.16 million	5.83	$153.22 million	$3.26	22.07

Cohen & Steers has higher revenue and earnings than Elme Communities. Elme Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cohen & Steers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Elme Communities has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cohen & Steers has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cohen & Steers beats Elme Communities on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elme Communities

Elme Communities is committed to elevating what home can be for middle-income renters by providing a higher level of quality, service, and experience. The Company is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns and operates approximately 9,400 apartment homes in the Washington, DC metro and the Atlanta metro regions, and owns approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space. Focused on providing quality, affordable homes to a deep, solid, and underserved base of mid-market demand, Elme Communities is building long-term value for shareholders.

About Cohen & Steers

Cohen & Steers, Inc. is a holding company, which operates as an investment manager specializing in liquid real assets, which include real estate securities, listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resource equities, preferred securities, and other income solutions. It manages investment vehicles, such as institutional accounts, open-end funds and closed-end funds. The company was founded by Martin Cohen and Robert Hamilton Steers in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, NY.