Head to Head Review: One Liberty Properties (NYSE:OLP) and Centerspace (NYSE:CSR)

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

Volatility & Risk

Centerspace has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, One Liberty Properties has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.0% of Centerspace shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.2% of One Liberty Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Centerspace shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.4% of One Liberty Properties shares are held by company 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Centerspace and One Liberty Properties”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centerspace	$258.64 million	3.98	$41.97 million	($1.61)	-38.55
One Liberty Properties	$89.45 million	6.25	$29.61 million	$1.62	16.12

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

Dividends

Centerspace pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. One Liberty Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. Centerspace pays out -186.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. One Liberty Properties pays out 111.1% 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 One Liberty Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centerspace	-5.57%	-1.72%	-0.76%
One Liberty Properties	38.96%	11.35%	4.58%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Centerspace and One Liberty Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centerspace	0	4	2	0	2.33
One Liberty Properties	0	0	1	0	3.00

Centerspace currently has a consensus target price of $75.33, indicating a potential upside of 21.37%. One Liberty Properties has a consensus target price of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.20%. Given Centerspace’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Centerspace is more favorable than One Liberty Properties.

Summary

One Liberty Properties beats Centerspace on 10 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 One Liberty Properties

One Liberty is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust incorporated in Maryland in 1982. The Company acquires, owns and manages a geographically diversified portfolio consisting primarily of industrial and retail properties. Many of these properties are subject to long-term net leases under which the tenant is typically responsible for the property’s real estate taxes, insurance and ordinary maintenance and repairs.