Plaza Retail REIT (OTCMKTS:PAZRF) vs. Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) Critical Analysis

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) and Plaza Retail REIT (OTCMKTS:PAZRF) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Saul Centers and Plaza Retail REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saul Centers	$289.84 million	2.91	$37.51 million	$0.97	35.13
Plaza Retail REIT	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.65	5.87

Saul Centers has higher revenue and earnings than Plaza Retail REIT. Plaza Retail REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Saul Centers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Saul Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. Plaza Retail REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Saul Centers pays out 243.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Plaza Retail REIT pays out 36.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Saul Centers and Plaza Retail REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saul Centers	11.54%	11.97%	1.61%
Plaza Retail REIT	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Saul Centers and Plaza Retail REIT, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saul Centers	0	1	0	0	2.00
Plaza Retail REIT	0	2	0	0	2.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

50.0% of Saul Centers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.2% of Plaza Retail REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 51.0% of Saul Centers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Saul Centers beats Plaza Retail REIT on 9 of the 10 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 Plaza Retail REIT

Plaza is an open-ended real estate investment trust and is a leading retail property owner and developer, focused on Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Plaza's portfolio at June 30, 2023 includes interests in 234 properties totaling approximately 8.8 million square feet across Canada and additional lands held for development. Plaza's portfolio largely consists of open-air centres and stand-alone small box retail outlets and is predominantly occupied by national tenants.