Reviewing CBL & Associates Properties (OTCMKTS:CBLAQ) & Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS)

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) and CBL & Associates Properties (OTCMKTS:CBLAQ) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Saul Centers and CBL & Associates Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saul Centers	0	1	0	0	2.00
CBL & Associates Properties	0	0	0	0	0.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Saul Centers and CBL & Associates Properties”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saul Centers	$296.25 million	2.88	$37.51 million	$1.06	32.76
CBL & Associates Properties	$578.37 million	N/A	$135.97 million	N/A	N/A

CBL & Associates Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Saul Centers.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

50.0% of Saul Centers shares are held by institutional investors. 51.0% of Saul Centers shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.1% of CBL & Associates Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Saul Centers and CBL & Associates Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saul Centers	12.43%	12.44%	1.71%
CBL & Associates Properties	29.81%	50.54%	6.47%

Summary

CBL & Associates Properties beats Saul Centers on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saul Centers

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties. Over 85% of the Company’s property operating income is generated from properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.

About CBL & Associates Properties

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which owns and operates retail properties. The firm engages in owning, developing, acquiring, leasing, managing and operating regional shopping malls, open-air centers, community centers and office properties. It operates through Malls and All Other segments. Its properties include Malls, Associated Centers, Community Centers, Office Buildings, Construction Properties and Mortgages. The company was founded on July 13, 1993 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, TN.