Head-To-Head Survey: Tanger (NYSE:SKT) versus Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS)

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) and Tanger (NYSE:SKT) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Saul Centers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of Tanger shares are held by institutional investors. 50.2% of Saul Centers shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Tanger shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Saul Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.8%. Tanger pays an annual dividend of $1.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Saul Centers pays out 203.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Tanger pays out 124.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Tanger has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Saul Centers and Tanger’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saul Centers	15.51%	13.79%	2.03%
Tanger	18.22%	15.45%	4.18%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Saul Centers and Tanger”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saul Centers	$282.62 million	2.62	$50.65 million	$1.16	26.17
Tanger	$562.00 million	6.80	$98.60 million	$0.94	35.34

Tanger has higher revenue and earnings than Saul Centers. Saul Centers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tanger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Saul Centers has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tanger has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Saul Centers and Tanger, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saul Centers	0	1	0	0	2.00
Tanger	0	5	3	0	2.38

Tanger has a consensus price target of $36.29, suggesting a potential upside of 9.24%. Given Tanger’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Tanger is more favorable than Saul Centers.

Summary

Tanger beats Saul Centers on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saul Centers

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties. Over 85% of the Company’s property operating income is generated from properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.

About Tanger

Tanger Inc. (NYSE: SKT) is a leading owner and operator of outlet and open-air retail shopping destinations, with over 43 years of expertise in the retail and outlet shopping industries. Tanger’s portfolio of 38 outlet centers, one adjacent managed center and one open-air lifestyle center comprises over 15 million square feet well positioned across tourist destinations and vibrant markets in 20 U.S. states and Canada. A publicly traded REIT since 1993, Tanger continues to innovate the retail experience for its shoppers with over 3,000 stores operated by more than 700 different brand name companies. Tanger is furnishing a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that includes a supplemental information package for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.