Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) vs. Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Head to Head Survey

Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) and Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Centerspace and Easterly Government Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centerspace	0	4	3	0	2.43
Easterly Government Properties	1	1	1	0	2.00

Centerspace presently has a consensus target price of $74.43, suggesting a potential upside of 17.26%. Easterly Government Properties has a consensus target price of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.46%. Given Centerspace’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Centerspace is more favorable than Easterly Government Properties.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.0% of Centerspace shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.5% of Easterly Government Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Centerspace shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Easterly Government Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Centerspace pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Easterly Government Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.2%. Centerspace pays out -242.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Easterly Government Properties pays out 557.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Centerspace and Easterly Government Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centerspace	-4.34%	-1.34%	-0.60%
Easterly Government Properties	6.25%	1.34%	0.62%

Volatility & Risk

Centerspace has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Easterly Government Properties has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Centerspace and Easterly Government Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centerspace	$260.98 million	4.07	$41.97 million	($1.27)	-49.98
Easterly Government Properties	$302.05 million	3.72	$18.80 million	$0.19	54.70

Centerspace has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Easterly Government Properties. Centerspace is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Easterly Government Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Easterly Government Properties beats Centerspace on 9 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 Easterly Government Properties

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE: DEA) is based in Washington, D.C., and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly’s experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S. Government agencies for properties leased to such agencies either directly or through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).