Head to Head Analysis: CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) versus Macerich (NYSE:MAC)

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) and CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Macerich has a beta of 2.07, indicating that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CTO Realty Growth has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Macerich and CTO Realty Growth”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Macerich	$1.01 billion	6.69	-$197.15 million	($0.65)	-36.54
CTO Realty Growth	$161.10 million	5.01	$10.09 million	$1.36	15.84

CTO Realty Growth has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Macerich. Macerich is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CTO Realty Growth, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Macerich and CTO Realty Growth, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Macerich	1	5	9	1	2.62
CTO Realty Growth	0	0	5	2	3.29

Macerich currently has a consensus target price of $25.88, suggesting a potential upside of 8.95%. CTO Realty Growth has a consensus target price of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.74%. Given CTO Realty Growth’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CTO Realty Growth is more favorable than Macerich.

Dividends

Macerich pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. CTO Realty Growth pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. Macerich pays out -104.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CTO Realty Growth pays out 111.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.4% of Macerich shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.2% of CTO Realty Growth shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Macerich shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of CTO Realty Growth shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Macerich and CTO Realty Growth’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Macerich	-16.85%	-6.26%	-1.97%
CTO Realty Growth	32.63%	8.90%	4.05%

Summary

CTO Realty Growth beats Macerich on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Macerich

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, D.C. corridor. Developing and managing properties that serve as community cornerstones, Macerich currently owns 47 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 44 regional town centers. Macerich is firmly dedicated to advancing environmental goals, social good and sound corporate governance. A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has achieved a #1 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking for the North American retail sector for nine consecutive years (2015-2023).

About CTO Realty Growth

CTO Realty Growth, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and operates a portfolio of high-quality, retail-based properties located primarily in higher growth markets in the United States. CTO also externally manages and owns a meaningful interest in Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PINE), a publicly traded net lease REIT.