Reviewing Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (OTCMKTS:UNBLF)

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (OTCMKTS:UNBLF) and Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

41.2% of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Urban Edge Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Urban Edge Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Urban Edge Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield	N/A	N/A	N/A
Urban Edge Properties	13.72%	4.92%	2.03%

Dividends

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield pays an annual dividend of $8.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Urban Edge Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield pays out 79.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Urban Edge Properties pays out 155.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Urban Edge Properties has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Urban Edge Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield	0	0	4	0	3.00
Urban Edge Properties	0	4	2	0	2.33

Urban Edge Properties has a consensus price target of $23.20, indicating a potential upside of 7.46%. Given Urban Edge Properties’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Urban Edge Properties is more favorable than Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Urban Edge Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield	N/A	N/A	N/A	$11.15	10.94
Urban Edge Properties	$471.93 million	5.78	$93.54 million	$0.54	39.98

Urban Edge Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Urban Edge Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Urban Edge Properties beats Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is an owner, developer and operator of sustainable, high-quality real estate assets in the most dynamic cities in Europe and the United States. The Group operates 72 shopping centres in 12 countries, including 38 which carry the iconic Westfield brand. These centres attract over 900 million visits annually and provide a unique platform for retailers and brands to connect with consumers. URW also has a portfolio of high-quality offices, 10 convention and exhibition venues in Paris, and a 2.5 Bn development pipeline of mainly mixed-use assets. Its 50 Bn portfolio is 86% in retail, 6% in offices, 5% in convention and exhibition venues, and 2% in services (as at December 31, 2023). URW is a committed partner to major cities on urban regeneration projects, through both mixed-use development and the retrofitting of buildings to industry-leading sustainability standards. These commitments are enhanced by the Group's Better Places plan, which strives to make a positive environmental, social and economic impact on the cities and communities where URW operates. URW's stapled shares are listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: URW), with a secondary listing in Australia through Chess Depositary Interests. The Group benefits from a BBB+ rating from Standard & Poor's and from a Baa2 rating from Moody's.

About Urban Edge Properties

Urban Edge Properties is a NYSE listed real estate investment trust focused on owning, managing, acquiring, developing, and redeveloping retail real estate in urban communities, primarily in the Washington, D.C. to Boston corridor. Urban Edge owns 76 properties totaling 17.1 million square feet of gross leasable area.