Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) & Mackenzie Realty Capital (NASDAQ:MKZR) Financial Analysis

Mackenzie Realty Capital (NASDAQ:MKZR) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Mackenzie Realty Capital has a beta of -0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 176% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Mackenzie Realty Capital pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 130.5%. Cousins Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Mackenzie Realty Capital pays out -32.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cousins Properties pays out 3,200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mackenzie Realty Capital is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mackenzie Realty Capital and Cousins Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mackenzie Realty Capital	1	0	0	0	1.00
Cousins Properties	0	3	7	0	2.70

Cousins Properties has a consensus price target of $31.09, indicating a potential upside of 6.77%. Given Cousins Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cousins Properties is more favorable than Mackenzie Realty Capital.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mackenzie Realty Capital and Cousins Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mackenzie Realty Capital	$19.38 million	0.18	-$25.92 million	($6.15)	-0.25
Cousins Properties	$993.82 million	4.82	$40.50 million	$0.04	728.00

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

Profitability

This table compares Mackenzie Realty Capital and Cousins Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mackenzie Realty Capital	-90.30%	-18.99%	-7.07%
Cousins Properties	0.62%	0.14%	0.07%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.3% of Mackenzie Realty Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Cousins Properties beats Mackenzie Realty Capital on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mackenzie Realty Capital

MacKenzie Realty Capital Inc. is a REIT which focused on investing in multifamily housing and office real estate properties located principally in the United States. MacKenzie Realty Capital Inc. is based in ORINDA, Calif.

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.