Contrasting Peakstone Realty Trust (NYSE:PKST) & Centerspace (NYSE:CSR)

Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) and Peakstone Realty Trust (NYSE:PKST) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Centerspace pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Peakstone Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.9%. Centerspace pays out -186.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Peakstone Realty Trust pays out -76.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Centerspace and Peakstone Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centerspace	0	4	2	0	2.33
Peakstone Realty Trust	0	1	0	0	2.00

Centerspace presently has a consensus price target of $75.33, indicating a potential upside of 16.34%. Peakstone Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 30.89%. Given Peakstone Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Peakstone Realty Trust is more favorable than Centerspace.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.0% of Centerspace shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.0% of Peakstone Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Centerspace shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Peakstone Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Centerspace has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Peakstone Realty Trust has a beta of 2.5, suggesting that its stock price is 150% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Centerspace and Peakstone Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centerspace	-5.57%	-1.72%	-0.76%
Peakstone Realty Trust	-18.26%	-3.61%	-1.59%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Centerspace and Peakstone Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centerspace	$258.64 million	4.15	$41.97 million	($1.61)	-40.22
Peakstone Realty Trust	$233.20 million	1.79	-$550.58 million	($1.18)	-9.71

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

Summary

Centerspace beats Peakstone Realty Trust on 11 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 Peakstone Realty Trust

Peakstone Realty Trust (NYSE: PKST) is an internally managed, real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, newer-vintage portfolio of predominantly single-tenant industrial and office properties. These assets are generally leased to creditworthy tenants under long-term net lease agreements with contractual rent escalations. As of March 31, 2023, Peakstone's wholly-owned portfolio consists of 19 million square feet across 24 states in primarily high-growth, strategic coastal and sunbelt markets.