Head-To-Head Review: CBRE Group (NYSE:CBRE) vs. Stratus Properties (NASDAQ:STRS)

Stratus Properties (NASDAQ:STRS) and CBRE Group (NYSE:CBRE) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.6% of Stratus Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.4% of CBRE Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.0% of Stratus Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of CBRE Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Stratus Properties and CBRE Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stratus Properties	74.96%	6.28%	3.83%
CBRE Group	3.11%	24.08%	7.29%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Stratus Properties and CBRE Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stratus Properties	$29.91 million	5.51	$11.98 million	$2.64	7.83
CBRE Group	$40.55 billion	1.04	$1.16 billion	$4.39	32.70

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Stratus Properties and CBRE Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stratus Properties	0	1	0	0	2.00
CBRE Group	0	1	8	0	2.89

CBRE Group has a consensus price target of $178.86, indicating a potential upside of 24.58%. Given CBRE Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CBRE Group is more favorable than Stratus Properties.

Risk & Volatility

Stratus Properties has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CBRE Group has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CBRE Group beats Stratus Properties on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stratus Properties

Stratus Properties Inc., a real estate company, engages in the entitlement, development, management, leasing, and sale of multi and single family residential and commercial real estate properties in the Austin, Texas area and other select markets in Texas. The company operates in two segments, Real Estate Operations and Leasing Operations. Its leasing operations cover lease of space at retail and mixed-use and multi-family properties. The company was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About CBRE Group

CBRE Group, Inc. operates as a commercial real estate services and investment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The Advisory Services segment offers strategic advice and execution to owners, investors, and occupiers of real estate in connection with leasing of offices, and industrial and retail space; clients fully integrated property sales services under the CBRE Capital Markets brand; clients commercial mortgage and structured financing services; originates and sells commercial mortgage loans; property management services, such as marketing, building engineering, accounting, and financial services on a contractual basis for owners of and investors in office, industrial, and retail properties; and valuation services that include market value appraisals, litigation support, discounted cash flow analyses, and feasibility studies, as well as consulting services, such as property condition reports, hotel advisory, and environmental consulting. The Global Workplace Solutions segment provides facilities management, including day-to-day management of client-occupied space, headquarters, regional offices, administrative offices, data centers and other critical facilities, manufacturing and laboratory facilities, and distribution facilities and retail space; and project management services comprising building consulting, program, and project and cost management services under the Turner & Townsend brand name. The Real Estate Investments segment offers investment management services under the CBRE Investment Management brand to pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, endowments, and other institutional investors; and development services, such as real estate development and investment activities under the Trammell Crow Company and Telford Homes brands to users and investors in commercial real estate, and for their own account. CBRE Group, Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.