Reviewing Sumitomo Realty & Development (OTCMKTS:SURDF) and Medalist Diversified REIT (NASDAQ:MDRR)

Medalist Diversified REIT (NASDAQ:MDRR) and Sumitomo Realty & Development (OTCMKTS:SURDF) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Dividends

Medalist Diversified REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Sumitomo Realty & Development pays an annual dividend of $15.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 70.8%. Medalist Diversified REIT pays out 7.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sumitomo Realty & Development pays out 11.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Medalist Diversified REIT has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

17.4% of Medalist Diversified REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.6% of Sumitomo Realty & Development shares are held by institutional investors. 77.6% of Medalist Diversified REIT shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Medalist Diversified REIT and Sumitomo Realty & Development”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medalist Diversified REIT	$10.40 million	1.78	-$2.39 million	$3.83	2.96
Sumitomo Realty & Development	N/A	N/A	N/A	$138.69	0.16

Sumitomo Realty & Development has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Medalist Diversified REIT. Sumitomo Realty & Development is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Medalist Diversified REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Medalist Diversified REIT and Sumitomo Realty & Development, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medalist Diversified REIT	0	1	0	0	2.00
Sumitomo Realty & Development	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares Medalist Diversified REIT and Sumitomo Realty & Development’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medalist Diversified REIT	80.24%	-15.18%	-6.46%
Sumitomo Realty & Development	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Medalist Diversified REIT beats Sumitomo Realty & Development on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Medalist Diversified REIT

Medalist Diversified REIT Inc. is a Virginia-based real estate investment trust that specializes in acquiring, owning and managing commercial real estate in the Southeast region of the U.S. The Company's strategy is to focus on commercial real estate which is expected to provide an attractive balance of risk and returns. Medalist utilizes a rigorous, consistent and replicable process for sourcing and conducting due diligence of acquisitions.

About Sumitomo Realty & Development

Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd. engages in the real estate business in Japan. It develops and leases office buildings, rental apartments, etc.; develops and sells condominium units, detached houses, etc.; and develops, leases, and sells properties, as well as operates and manages hotels, event halls, retail facilities, land lots, etc. The company also offers real estate brokerage services, as well as engages in the fitness and restaurant businesses. In addition, it provides monthly parking lot, house cleaning, interior designing, catering, convenience stores, and insurance agency services. It serves corporate and private customers. The company was formerly known as Izumi Real Estate Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd. in 1957. Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.