Analyzing CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) and Mitsubishi Estate (OTCMKTS:MITEY)

Mitsubishi Estate (OTCMKTS:MITEY) and CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Mitsubishi Estate has a beta of 0.12, meaning that its stock price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CoStar Group has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Mitsubishi Estate and CoStar Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mitsubishi Estate	0	1	0	0	2.00
CoStar Group	2	9	9	0	2.35

CoStar Group has a consensus price target of $40.11, suggesting a potential upside of 29.75%. Given CoStar Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CoStar Group is more favorable than Mitsubishi Estate.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.6% of CoStar Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of CoStar Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Mitsubishi Estate and CoStar Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mitsubishi Estate	15.06%	6.29%	2.08%
CoStar Group	2.08%	3.74%	2.96%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mitsubishi Estate and CoStar Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mitsubishi Estate	$11.60 billion	2.47	$1.48 billion	$1.51	15.68
CoStar Group	$3.56 billion	3.52	$7.00 million	$0.19	162.68

Mitsubishi Estate has higher revenue and earnings than CoStar Group. Mitsubishi Estate is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CoStar Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

CoStar Group beats Mitsubishi Estate on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mitsubishi Estate

Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. engages in the real estate activities in Japan and internationally. The company develops, leases, manages, and sells office buildings and commercial facilities; operates rental offices, coworking space, virtual offices, hourly meeting rooms, home delivery storage service, commercial nursing homes, and building garages; offers real estate management, as well as building management services, such as security, facility management, cleaning, and planting services; and operates hotels and airports. It also engages in the construction, sales, management, and leasing of developed condominiums and residential houses; design and contract construction of custom-built houses; renovation and sales of condominiums; real estate brokerage; dark fiber leasing and data center housing business; provision of real estate investment, such as asset management services to investment corporations and real estate funds; architectural design and engineering business; cooling and heating supply business; and parking management business. In addition, the company plans and operates logistics facilities; purchases, manufactures, processes, and sells construction materials; constructs prefabricated housing using cross-laminated timber and laminated wood; constructs, manufactures, and sells furniture and household items; offers financial consulting and investment advisory services; and develops and manages information systems and software. Further, it plans, develops, and operates GYYM, a platform service for fitness facilities; Ele-Cinema, a content distribution service that utilizes projectors in elevators; WELL ROOM, a healthcare portal site for foreign residents; and delivery and takeout systems. Additionally, the company produces and sells agricultural products; and offers walking tour entertainment content, human resources, land management, and landscaping services. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc. provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information. It also provides Leasing, a tool to capture, manage, and maintain lease data; CoStar Lease Analysis; Public Record, a searchable database of commercially zoned parcels; CoStar Real Estate Manager, a real estate lease administration, portfolio management, and lease accounting compliance software solution; and CoStar Risk Analytics and CoStar Investment. In addition, it offers apartment marketing sites, such as ApartmentFinder.com, ForRent.com, ApartmentHomeLiving.com, WestsideRentals.com, AFTER55.com, CorporateHousing.com, ForRentUniversity.com, Apartamentos.com, and Off Campus Partners; LoopNet Premium Lister; LoopNet Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Ads; LandsofAmerica.com, LandAndFarm.com, and LandWatch.com for rural land for-sale; BizBuySell.com, BizQuest.com, and FindaFranchise.com for operating businesses and franchises for-sale; Ten-X, an online auction platform for commercial real estate; and HomeSnap, an online and mobile software platform, as well as Homes.com, a homes for sale listings site. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.