Reviewing Cromwell Property Group (OTCMKTS:CMWCF) and Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT)

Cromwell Property Group (OTCMKTS:CMWCF) and Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Cromwell Property Group and Empire State Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cromwell Property Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Empire State Realty Trust	0.93%	0.40%	0.17%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

67.1% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.2% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Cromwell Property Group and Empire State Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cromwell Property Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Empire State Realty Trust	2	1	0	0	1.33

Empire State Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.58%. Given Empire State Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Empire State Realty Trust is more favorable than Cromwell Property Group.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cromwell Property Group and Empire State Realty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cromwell Property Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.11	2.38
Empire State Realty Trust	$768.27 million	1.08	$47.60 million	$0.07	68.57

Empire State Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Cromwell Property Group. Cromwell Property Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Empire State Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Cromwell Property Group pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. Empire State Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Cromwell Property Group pays out 18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Empire State Realty Trust pays out 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. Cromwell Property Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Empire State Realty Trust beats Cromwell Property Group on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cromwell Property Group

Cromwell Property Group (ASX:CMW) is a real estate investor and fund manager with operations on three continents and a global investor base. Cromwell is included in the S&P/ASX200. As at 30 June 2022, Cromwell had a market capitalisation of $2.0 billion, an Australian investment portfolio valued at $3.0 billion and total assets under management of $12.0 billion across Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years. As of September 30, 2023, ESRT’s portfolio is comprised of approximately 8.6 million rentable square feet of office space, 0.7 million rentable square feet of retail space and 727 residential units across three multifamily properties.