Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) & Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) Financial Survey

Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Smartstop Self Storage REIT and Cousins Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	4.38%	1.00%	0.54%
Cousins Properties	-0.52%	-0.11%	-0.06%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Smartstop Self Storage REIT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Smartstop Self Storage REIT and Cousins Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	3	5	2	2.73
Cousins Properties	1	2	6	0	2.56

Smartstop Self Storage REIT presently has a consensus price target of $36.94, indicating a potential upside of 18.87%. Cousins Properties has a consensus price target of $28.36, indicating a potential upside of 5.91%. Given Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Smartstop Self Storage REIT is more favorable than Cousins Properties.

Dividends

Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays out 1,053.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cousins Properties pays out -4,266.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Smartstop Self Storage REIT and Cousins Properties”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$281.14 million	6.12	-$1.55 million	$0.15	207.20
Cousins Properties	$993.82 million	4.43	$40.50 million	($0.03)	-892.67

Cousins Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. Cousins Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smartstop Self Storage REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Smartstop Self Storage REIT beats Cousins Properties on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smartstop Self Storage REIT

Symmetry Medical Inc. (Symmetry) is a medical device solutions company, including surgical instruments, orthopedic implants, and sterilization cases and trays. The Company designs, develops and offers worldwide production and supply chain capabilities for these products to customers in the orthopedic industry, and other medical device markets (including but not limited to arthroscopy, dental, laparoscopy, osteobiologic, and endoscopy segments). It also manufactures specialized non-healthcare products, primarily in the aerospace industry. The Company operates in two segments: original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutions and symmetry surgical. On August 15, 2011, the Company acquired PSC Industries, Inc’s Olsen Medical division. On December 29, 2011 it acquired the surgical instruments product portfolio from Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments.