Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) versus Global Medical REIT (NYSE:XRN) Head to Head Review

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) and Global Medical REIT (NYSE:XRN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.5% of Global Medical REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of Global Medical REIT shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Cousins Properties and Global Medical REIT, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cousins Properties	1	2	6	0	2.56
Global Medical REIT	1	4	2	1	2.38

Cousins Properties currently has a consensus price target of $28.73, suggesting a potential upside of 1.53%. Global Medical REIT has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.82%. Given Global Medical REIT’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Global Medical REIT is more favorable than Cousins Properties.

Dividends

Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Global Medical REIT pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.5%. Cousins Properties pays out -4,266.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Medical REIT pays out -270.3% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Cousins Properties and Global Medical REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cousins Properties	-0.52%	-0.11%	-0.06%
Global Medical REIT	-6.06%	-2.19%	-0.73%

Volatility and Risk

Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Medical REIT has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cousins Properties and Global Medical REIT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cousins Properties	$1.01 billion	4.62	$40.50 million	($0.03)	-943.10
Global Medical REIT	$148.21 million	3.14	-$5.84 million	($1.11)	-31.66

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

Summary

Cousins Properties beats Global Medical REIT on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments.

About Global Medical REIT

Global Medical REIT Inc. (GMRE) is a net-lease medical office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and acquires healthcare facilities and leases those facilities to physician groups and regional and national healthcare systems.