Head to Head Survey: SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) and SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cousins Properties and SL Green Realty”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cousins Properties	$993.82 million	4.90	$40.50 million	$0.04	740.00
SL Green Realty	$1.00 billion	4.00	-$88.28 million	($2.73)	-20.60

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

Profitability

This table compares Cousins Properties and SL Green Realty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cousins Properties	0.62%	0.14%	0.07%
SL Green Realty	-16.92%	-4.37%	-1.53%

Dividends

Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. SL Green Realty pays an annual dividend of $2.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Cousins Properties pays out 3,200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SL Green Realty pays out -90.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SL Green Realty has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. SL Green Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Cousins Properties and SL Green Realty, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cousins Properties	0	3	6	0	2.67
SL Green Realty	2	10	7	0	2.26

Cousins Properties presently has a consensus target price of $30.91, indicating a potential upside of 4.42%. SL Green Realty has a consensus target price of $55.15, indicating a potential downside of 1.93%. Given Cousins Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Cousins Properties is more favorable than SL Green Realty.

Volatility and Risk

Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SL Green Realty has a beta of 1.58, meaning that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of SL Green Realty shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of SL Green Realty shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Cousins Properties beats SL Green Realty on 10 of the 17 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 SL Green Realty

3SL Green Realty Corp., Manhattan’s largest office landlord, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2022, SL Green held interests in 64 buildings totaling 34.4 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 26.3 million square feet of Manhattan buildings and 7.2 million square feet securing debt and preferred equity investments.