Contrasting Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) and NNN REIT (NYSE:NNN)

Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) and NNN REIT (NYSE:NNN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Dividends

Centerspace pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. NNN REIT pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Centerspace pays out -242.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NNN REIT pays out 107.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NNN REIT has raised its dividend for 35 consecutive years. NNN REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Centerspace and NNN REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centerspace	0	5	3	0	2.38
NNN REIT	1	9	3	0	2.15

Centerspace presently has a consensus target price of $73.63, suggesting a potential upside of 14.63%. NNN REIT has a consensus target price of $44.54, suggesting a potential upside of 7.10%. Given Centerspace’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Centerspace is more favorable than NNN REIT.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.0% of Centerspace shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of NNN REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Centerspace shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of NNN REIT shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Centerspace has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NNN REIT has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Centerspace and NNN REIT”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centerspace	$260.98 million	4.12	$41.97 million	($1.27)	-50.57
NNN REIT	$869.27 million	8.97	$396.83 million	$2.15	19.34

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

Profitability

This table compares Centerspace and NNN REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centerspace	-4.34%	-1.34%	-0.60%
NNN REIT	45.65%	9.28%	4.51%

Summary

NNN REIT beats Centerspace on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Centerspace

Centerspace is an owner and operator of apartment communities committed to providing great homes by focusing on integrity and serving others. Founded in 1970, as of September 30, 2023, Centerspace owned interests in 71 apartment communities consisting of 12,785 apartment homes located in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Centerspace was named a Top Workplace for the fourth consecutive year in 2023 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

About NNN REIT

NNN REIT invests primarily in high-quality retail properties subject generally to long-term, net leases. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned 3,532 properties in 49 states with a gross leasable area of approximately 36.0 million square feet and a weighted average remaining lease term of 10.1 years. NNN is one of only three publicly traded REITs to have increased annual dividends for 34 or more consecutive years.