Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG – Get Free Report) and Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and dividends.
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% | 7.25% | 5.89% |
| Cohen & Steers | 28.16% | 26.90% | 25.44% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Westwood Holdings Group and Cohen & Steers”s gross 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 | 1.81 | $7.06 million | $0.81 | 22.99 |
| Cohen & Steers | $556.12 million | 6.76 | $153.22 million | $3.26 | 22.43 |
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 and Volatility
Westwood Holdings Group has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cohen & Steers has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices 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 20.36%. Given Cohen & Steers’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cohen & Steers is more favorable than Westwood Holdings Group.
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 3.7%. 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.
Insider & 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
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., through its subsidiaries, manages investment assets and provides services for its clients. The company operates in two segments, Advisory and Trust. The Advisory segment provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, individuals, and the Westwood Funds; and investment sub-advisory services to mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles, and its Trust segment. The Trust segment offers trust and custodial services; and participates in common trust funds that it sponsors to institutions and high net worth individuals. Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Dallas, Texas.
About Cohen & Steers
Cohen & Steers, Inc. is a holding company, which operates as an investment manager specializing in liquid real assets, which include real estate securities, listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resource equities, preferred securities, and other income solutions. It manages investment vehicles, such as institutional accounts, open-end funds and closed-end funds. The company was founded by Martin Cohen and Robert Hamilton Steers in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
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