Comparing COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) & Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment (NYSE:CHMI)

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) and Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment (NYSE:CHMI) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares COPT Defense Properties and Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
COPT Defense Properties	18.44%	9.07%	3.28%
Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment	-60.97%	15.18%	1.45%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares COPT Defense Properties and Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
COPT Defense Properties	$753.27 million	4.06	$138.93 million	$1.23	22.07
Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment	$34.58 million	3.20	-$34.79 million	$0.06	58.25

COPT Defense Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment. COPT Defense Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for COPT Defense Properties and Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
COPT Defense Properties	0	3	5	0	2.63
Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment	0	1	1	1	3.00

COPT Defense Properties currently has a consensus price target of $32.88, suggesting a potential upside of 21.13%. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment has a consensus price target of $4.50, suggesting a potential upside of 28.76%. Given Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment is more favorable than COPT Defense Properties.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

18.5% of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of COPT Defense Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

COPT Defense Properties has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

COPT Defense Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.2%. COPT Defense Properties pays out 99.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment pays out 1,000.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

COPT Defense Properties beats Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.

About Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation, a residential real estate finance company, acquires, invests in, and manages residential mortgage assets in the United States. It operates through Investments in RMBS (residential mortgage-backed securities) and Investments in Servicing Related Assets segments. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. The company generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Farmingdale, New Jersey.