Analyzing Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CWYUF)

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CWYUF) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Simon Property Group and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Simon Property Group	35.98%	67.32%	6.56%
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	35.62%	4.74%	2.50%

Risk & Volatility

Simon Property Group has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Simon Property Group and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Simon Property Group	$5.96 billion	8.78	$2.37 billion	$6.28	25.54
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	$670.29 million	4.92	$172.78 million	$1.22	15.18

Simon Property Group has higher revenue and earnings than SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Simon Property Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Simon Property Group and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Simon Property Group	0	5	4	0	2.44
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	2	4.00

Simon Property Group presently has a consensus target price of $179.44, suggesting a potential upside of 11.86%. Given Simon Property Group’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Simon Property Group is more favorable than SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.0% of Simon Property Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of Simon Property Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.9% of SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned 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.

Dividends

Simon Property Group pays an annual dividend of $8.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.2%. Simon Property Group pays out 133.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 109.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Simon Property Group has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Simon Property Group beats SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. In this package, the terms Simon, we, our, or the Company refer to Simon Property Group, Inc., the Operating Partnership, and its subsidiaries. We own, develop and manage premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations, which consist primarily of malls, Premium Outlets, The Mills, and International Properties. At June 30, 2024, we owned or had an interest in 230 properties comprising 183 million square feet in North America, Asia and Europe. We also owned an 84% interest in The Taubman Realty Group, or TRG, which owns 22 regional, super-regional, and outlet malls in the U.S. and Asia. Additionally, at June 30, 2024, we had a 22.4% ownership interest in Klépierre, a publicly traded, Paris-based real estate company, which owns shopping centers in 14 European countries.

About SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust

SmartCentres is one of Canada’s largest fully integrated REITs, with a best-in-class and growing mixed-use portfolio featuring 191 strategically located properties in communities across the country. SmartCentres has approximately $12.0 billion in assets and owns 35.0 million square feet of income producing value-oriented retail and first-class office properties with 98.5% in place and committed occupancy, on 3,500 acres of owned land across Canada.