SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CWYUF) vs. Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) Head-To-Head Review

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CWYUF) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Urban Edge Properties and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Urban Edge Properties	0	4	2	0	2.33
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00

Urban Edge Properties currently has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.14%. Given Urban Edge Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Urban Edge Properties is more favorable than SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust.

Volatility & Risk

Urban Edge Properties has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Urban Edge Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. Urban Edge Properties pays out 85.4% 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 103.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Urban Edge Properties has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.9% of Urban Edge Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Urban Edge Properties 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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Urban Edge Properties and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Urban Edge Properties	$444.97 million	5.40	$72.56 million	$0.89	21.47
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	$670.29 million	5.01	$172.78 million	$1.28	14.70

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

Profitability

This table compares Urban Edge Properties and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Urban Edge Properties	23.73%	8.10%	3.35%
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	39.89%	5.16%	2.71%

Summary

Urban Edge Properties beats SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Urban Edge Properties

Urban Edge Properties is a NYSE listed real estate investment trust focused on owning, managing, acquiring, developing, and redeveloping retail real estate in urban communities, primarily in the Washington, D.C. to Boston corridor. Urban Edge owns 76 properties totaling 17.1 million square feet of gross leasable area.

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.