Region Group (OTCMKTS:SCPAF) vs. Curbline Properties (NYSE:CURB) Critical Review

Curbline Properties (NYSE:CURB) and Region Group (OTCMKTS:SCPAF) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.7% of Region Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of Curbline Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Curbline Properties and Region Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Curbline Properties	0	4	5	0	2.56
Region Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

Curbline Properties currently has a consensus price target of $31.11, suggesting a potential upside of 5.07%. Given Curbline Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Curbline Properties is more favorable than Region Group.

Dividends

Curbline Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Region Group pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. Curbline Properties pays out 251.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Region Group pays out 63.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Region Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Curbline Properties and Region Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Curbline Properties	13.10%	1.50%	1.13%
Region Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Curbline Properties and Region Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Curbline Properties	$182.89 million	18.63	$39.83 million	$0.27	109.67
Region Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.17	8.96

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

Summary

Curbline Properties beats Region Group on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Curbline Properties

Curbline Properties Corp. is a real estate investment trust which is an owner and manager of convenience shopping centers positioned on the curbline of well-trafficked intersections and major vehicular corridors in suburban. Curbline Properties Corp. is based in NEW YORK.

About Region Group

Region Group (RGN) includes two internally managed real estate investment trusts owning a portfolio of convenience-based retail properties located across Australia. Region invests in retail properties predominantly anchored by non-discretionary retailers, with long leases to tenants such as Woolworths Limited, Coles Limited and companies in the Wesfarmers Limited group. Region Group comprises two registered managed investment schemes, Region Management Trust (ARSN 160 612 626) and Region Retail Trust (ARSN 160 612 788). The security in each Trust are stapled to form the stapled listed vehicle, Region Group (ASX: RGN), formerly known as SCA Property Group (ASX: SCP).