Analyzing Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) and Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cousins Properties and Claros Mortgage Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cousins Properties	$993.82 million	4.17	$40.50 million	$0.24	103.86
Claros Mortgage Trust	$187.83 million	1.94	-$489.07 million	($3.49)	-0.75

Cousins Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Claros Mortgage Trust. Claros Mortgage 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.

Risk and Volatility

Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Claros Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Cousins Properties and Claros Mortgage Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cousins Properties	1	2	6	0	2.56
Claros Mortgage Trust	3	0	1	0	1.50

Cousins Properties currently has a consensus price target of $28.73, indicating a potential upside of 15.25%. Claros Mortgage Trust has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.16%. Given Cousins Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Cousins Properties is more favorable than Claros Mortgage Trust.

Profitability

This table compares Cousins Properties and Claros Mortgage Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cousins Properties	4.08%	0.85%	0.46%
Claros Mortgage Trust	-260.38%	-15.72%	-4.84%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Cousins Properties beats Claros Mortgage Trust on 14 of the 14 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 Claros Mortgage Trust

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust. It focuses on originating senior and subordinate loans on transitional commercial real estate assets in the United States. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. As a result, it would not be subject to corporate income tax on that portion of its net income that is distributed to shareholders. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in New York, New York.