Head-To-Head Contrast: Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) versus Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG)

Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) and Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.6% of Westwood Holdings Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.5% of Cohen & Steers shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.4% of Westwood Holdings Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 45.4% of Cohen & Steers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Westwood Holdings Group and Cohen & Steers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westwood Holdings Group	$97.76 million	1.84	$7.06 million	$0.81	23.30
Cohen & Steers	$556.12 million	6.60	$153.22 million	$3.26	21.89

Cohen & Steers has higher revenue and earnings than Westwood Holdings Group. Cohen & Steers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westwood Holdings Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Westwood Holdings Group has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cohen & Steers has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Westwood Holdings Group and Cohen & Steers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westwood Holdings Group	7.00%	7.20%	5.83%
Cohen & Steers	28.16%	26.90%	19.14%

Dividends

Westwood Holdings Group pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Cohen & Steers pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Westwood Holdings Group pays out 74.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cohen & Steers pays out 82.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cohen & Steers has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Cohen & Steers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Westwood Holdings Group and Cohen & Steers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westwood Holdings Group	0	0	1	0	3.00
Cohen & Steers	1	1	1	0	2.00

Cohen & Steers has a consensus price target of $88.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.34%. Given Cohen & Steers’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cohen & Steers is more favorable than Westwood Holdings Group.

Summary

Cohen & Steers beats Westwood Holdings Group on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westwood Holdings Group

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. is an investment management and wealth management firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Through its subsidiaries, it provides investment advisory services to institutional investors, private wealth clients and financial intermediaries in the United States and internationally. The company offers investment strategies across equities, fixed income, alternatives and multi-asset portfolios. Its wealth management services include financial planning and investment management for individuals, families, trusts, foundations and endowments.

About Cohen & Steers

Cohen & Steers, Inc. is a global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income. The company manages investment strategies focused on publicly traded real estate securities, infrastructure, natural resources and preferred securities, along with related multi-asset strategies. Founded in 1986 by Martin Cohen and Robert Steers, the firm has built its business around specialized investment management. Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds and separately managed accounts for individual and institutional investors.