Financial Analysis: Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) & DigitalBridge Group (NYSE:DBRG)

Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) and DigitalBridge Group (NYSE:DBRG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

51.5% of Cohen & Steers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of DigitalBridge Group shares are held by institutional investors. 47.6% of Cohen & Steers shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of DigitalBridge Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Cohen & Steers has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DigitalBridge Group has a beta of 1.91, meaning that its share price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Cohen & Steers pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. DigitalBridge Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Cohen & Steers pays out 83.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. DigitalBridge Group pays out 133.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cohen & Steers has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Cohen & Steers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Cohen & Steers and DigitalBridge Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cohen & Steers	29.24%	33.13%	20.43%
DigitalBridge Group	10.98%	4.29%	2.06%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Cohen & Steers and DigitalBridge Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cohen & Steers	0	1	1	0	2.50
DigitalBridge Group	0	1	7	2	3.10

Cohen & Steers presently has a consensus target price of $106.50, suggesting a potential upside of 28.44%. DigitalBridge Group has a consensus target price of $16.61, suggesting a potential upside of 54.93%. Given DigitalBridge Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe DigitalBridge Group is more favorable than Cohen & Steers.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cohen & Steers and DigitalBridge Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cohen & Steers	$536.76 million	7.87	$151.26 million	$2.97	27.92
DigitalBridge Group	$607.03 million	3.08	$185.28 million	$0.03	357.40

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

About Cohen & Steers

Cohen & Steers, Inc. is a holding company which operates as an investment manager specializing in liquid real assets, which include real estate securities, listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resource equities, preferred securities, and other income solutions. It manages investment vehicles, such as institutional accounts, open-end funds and closed-end funds. The company was founded by Martin Cohen and Robert Hamilton Steers in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About DigitalBridge Group

DigitalBridge is an infrastructure investment firm specializing in digital infrastructure assets. They provide services to institutional investors. They primarily invest in data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small cells, and edge infrastructure. DigitalBridge Group, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with additional offices in Los Angles, California, and New York New York.