United Dominion Realty Trust (NYSE:UDR) & Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) Critical Analysis

United Dominion Realty Trust (NYSE:UDR) and Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

United Dominion Realty Trust has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centerspace has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

United Dominion Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Centerspace pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. United Dominion Realty Trust pays out 390.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Centerspace pays out 172.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. United Dominion Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Centerspace has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. United Dominion Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares United Dominion Realty Trust and Centerspace’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Dominion Realty Trust	8.80%	4.51%	1.39%
Centerspace	-9.13%	-2.81%	-1.27%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for United Dominion Realty Trust and Centerspace, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Dominion Realty Trust	1	13	4	0	2.17
Centerspace	0	7	3	0	2.30

United Dominion Realty Trust currently has a consensus target price of $40.83, suggesting a potential upside of 13.16%. Centerspace has a consensus target price of $69.67, suggesting a potential upside of 4.65%. Given United Dominion Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe United Dominion Realty Trust is more favorable than Centerspace.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Dominion Realty Trust and Centerspace”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Dominion Realty Trust	$1.70 billion	7.01	$89.58 million	$0.44	82.01
Centerspace	$273.45 million	4.07	-$10.69 million	$1.79	37.19

United Dominion Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Centerspace. Centerspace is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Dominion Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of United Dominion Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.0% of Centerspace shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of United Dominion Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Centerspace shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

United Dominion Realty Trust beats Centerspace on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Dominion Realty Trust

UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR), an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S. markets. As of December 31, 2023, UDR owned or had an ownership position in 60,336 apartment homes including 359 homes under development. For over 51 years, UDR has delivered long-term value to shareholders, the best standard of service to Residents and the highest quality experience for Associates.

About Centerspace

Centerspace is an owner and operator of apartment communities committed to providing great homes by focusing on integrity and serving others. Founded in 1970, as of September 30, 2023, Centerspace owned interests in 71 apartment communities consisting of 12,785 apartment homes located in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Centerspace was named a Top Workplace for the fourth consecutive year in 2023 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.