Critical Analysis: Site Centers (NYSE:SITC) versus Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS)

Site Centers (NYSE:SITC) and Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Site Centers and Saul Centers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Site Centers	$271.09 million	2.52	$531.82 million	$10.32	1.26
Saul Centers	$268.85 million	3.08	$50.65 million	$1.47	23.30

Site Centers has higher revenue and earnings than Saul Centers. Site Centers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Saul Centers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Site Centers has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Saul Centers has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Site Centers and Saul Centers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Site Centers	0	7	2	0	2.22
Saul Centers	0	0	1	0	3.00

Site Centers presently has a consensus price target of $35.25, indicating a potential upside of 170.63%. Saul Centers has a consensus price target of $45.50, indicating a potential upside of 32.83%. Given Site Centers’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Site Centers is more favorable than Saul Centers.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Site Centers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.0% of Saul Centers shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Site Centers shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 56.6% of Saul Centers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Site Centers and Saul Centers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Site Centers	201.78%	39.38%	24.72%
Saul Centers	17.09%	14.69%	2.22%

Summary

Site Centers beats Saul Centers on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Site Centers

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.

About Saul Centers

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties. Over 85% of the Company’s property operating income is generated from properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.