Critical Survey: Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLR) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLR) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust and Cousins Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	0	N/A
Cousins Properties	2	1	4	0	2.29

Cousins Properties has a consensus price target of $23.29, suggesting a potential upside of 4.99%. Given Cousins Properties’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cousins Properties is more favorable than Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.3% of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 40.6% of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 1.68, meaning that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust and Cousins Properties’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	$102.32 million	0.10	-$4.69 million	($42.51)	0.00
Cousins Properties	$802.87 million	4.20	$82.96 million	$0.55	40.33

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

Profitability

This table compares Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust and Cousins Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	-4.58%	N/A	-0.70%
Cousins Properties	10.33%	1.81%	1.09%

Summary

Cousins Properties beats Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. is a fully integrated, self-managed commercial real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and operating income-producing retail properties with a primary focus on grocery-anchored centers.

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.