Contrasting Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) and Mackenzie Realty Capital (NASDAQ:MKZR)

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) and Mackenzie Realty Capital (NASDAQ:MKZR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Easterly Government Properties and Mackenzie Realty Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Easterly Government Properties	4.24%	1.00%	0.42%
Mackenzie Realty Capital	-122.81%	-23.62%	-9.13%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Easterly Government Properties and Mackenzie Realty Capital, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Easterly Government Properties	2	2	2	0	2.00
Mackenzie Realty Capital	1	0	0	0	1.00

Easterly Government Properties presently has a consensus target price of $24.99, suggesting a potential upside of 4.83%. Given Easterly Government Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Easterly Government Properties is more favorable than Mackenzie Realty Capital.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Easterly Government Properties and Mackenzie Realty Capital”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Easterly Government Properties	$302.05 million	3.64	$19.55 million	$0.30	79.47
Mackenzie Realty Capital	$22.06 million	0.35	-$25.92 million	($10.80)	-0.36

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

Volatility and Risk

Easterly Government Properties has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mackenzie Realty Capital has a beta of -1.12, meaning that its stock price is 212% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.5% of Easterly Government Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of Easterly Government Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of Mackenzie Realty Capital shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Easterly Government Properties beats Mackenzie Realty Capital on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Easterly Government Properties

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE: DEA) is based in Washington, D.C., and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly’s experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S. Government agencies for properties leased to such agencies either directly or through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

About Mackenzie Realty Capital

MacKenzie Realty Capital Inc. is a REIT which focused on investing in multifamily housing and office real estate properties located principally in the United States. MacKenzie Realty Capital Inc. is based in ORINDA, Calif.