Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) versus SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CWYUF) Financial Analysis

SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CWYUF) and Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. Kite Realty Group Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 105.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Kite Realty Group Trust pays out 168.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Kite Realty Group Trust has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kite Realty Group Trust has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust and Kite Realty Group Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	$670.29 million	5.11	$172.78 million	$1.28	15.01
Kite Realty Group Trust	$841.84 million	6.02	$4.07 million	$0.64	36.55

SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Kite Realty Group Trust. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kite Realty Group Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust and Kite Realty Group Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00
Kite Realty Group Trust	0	7	2	0	2.22

Kite Realty Group Trust has a consensus target price of $25.63, indicating a potential upside of 9.53%. Given Kite Realty Group Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kite Realty Group Trust is more favorable than SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust.

Profitability

This table compares SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust and Kite Realty Group Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust	39.89%	5.16%	2.71%
Kite Realty Group Trust	16.34%	4.27%	2.05%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.8% of Kite Realty Group Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.9% of SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Kite Realty Group Trust shares are owned by 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.

Summary

Kite Realty Group Trust beats SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust

SmartCentres is one of Canada’s largest fully integrated REITs, with a best-in-class and growing mixed-use portfolio featuring 191 strategically located properties in communities across the country. SmartCentres has approximately $12.0 billion in assets and owns 35.0 million square feet of income producing value-oriented retail and first-class office properties with 98.5% in place and committed occupancy, on 3,500 acres of owned land across Canada.

About Kite Realty Group Trust

Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Indianapolis, IN that is one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets. The Company’s primarily grocery-anchored portfolio is located in high-growth Sun Belt and select strategic gateway markets. The combination of necessity-based grocery-anchored neighborhood and community centers, along with vibrant mixed-use assets makes the KRG portfolio an ideal mix for both retailers and consumers. Publicly listed since 2004, KRG has nearly 60 years of experience in developing, constructing and operating real estate. Using operational, investment, development, and redevelopment expertise, KRG continuously optimizes its portfolio to maximize value and return to shareholders. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned interests in 180 U.S. open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets, comprising approximately 28.1 million square feet of gross leasable space.