Head to Head Review: Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) versus Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) and Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Cousins Properties and Global Net Lease, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cousins Properties	0	3	7	0	2.70
Global Net Lease	0	2	2	1	2.80

Cousins Properties presently has a consensus price target of $32.70, suggesting a potential upside of 15.79%. Global Net Lease has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.16%. Given Global Net Lease’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Global Net Lease is more favorable than Cousins Properties.

Volatility & Risk

Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Net Lease has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cousins Properties and Global Net Lease”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cousins Properties	$856.76 million	5.53	$45.96 million	$0.30	94.13
Global Net Lease	$805.01 million	2.13	-$211.91 million	($0.76)	-9.86

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.2% of Global Net Lease shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Global Net Lease shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Cousins Properties and Global Net Lease’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cousins Properties	5.36%	1.00%	0.58%
Global Net Lease	-21.37%	-7.04%	-2.24%

Dividends

Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Global Net Lease pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.1%. Cousins Properties pays out 426.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Global Net Lease pays out -100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Net Lease is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Cousins Properties beats Global Net Lease on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Global Net Lease

Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GNL) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the NYSE. The firm focused on acquiring a diversified global portfolio of commercial properties, with an emphasis on sale-leaseback transactions involving single tenant, mission critical income producing net-leased assets across the United States, Western and Northern Europe.