CBL & Associates Properties (OTCMKTS:CBLAQ) and Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO) Financial Review

Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO) and CBL & Associates Properties (OTCMKTS:CBLAQ) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Two Harbors Investment and CBL & Associates Properties”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Two Harbors Investment	$510.75 million	2.72	$298.17 million	$2.11	6.33
CBL & Associates Properties	$535.29 million	N/A	$6.55 million	N/A	N/A

Two Harbors Investment has higher earnings, but lower revenue than CBL & Associates Properties.

Profitability

This table compares Two Harbors Investment and CBL & Associates Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Two Harbors Investment	66.24%	6.52%	0.81%
CBL & Associates Properties	6.19%	10.34%	1.38%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Two Harbors Investment and CBL & Associates Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Two Harbors Investment	0	3	4	0	2.57
CBL & Associates Properties	0	0	0	0	0.00

Two Harbors Investment presently has a consensus target price of $13.96, suggesting a potential upside of 4.52%. Given Two Harbors Investment’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Two Harbors Investment is more favorable than CBL & Associates Properties.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.2% of Two Harbors Investment shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Two Harbors Investment shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.1% of CBL & Associates Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Two Harbors Investment beats CBL & Associates Properties on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Two Harbors Investment

Two Harbors Investment Corp. invests in, finances, and manages mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and other financial assets through RoundPoint in the United States. The company target assets include agency RMBS collateralized by fixed rate mortgage loans, adjustable rate mortgage loans, hybrid mortgage loans, or derivatives; and other assets, such as financial and mortgage-related assets, including non-agency securities and non-hedging transactions. It qualifies as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, the company must distribute at least 90% of annual taxable income to its stockholders. Two Harbors Investment Corp. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

About CBL & Associates Properties

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which owns and operates retail properties. The firm engages in owning, developing, acquiring, leasing, managing and operating regional shopping malls, open-air centers, community centers and office properties. It operates through Malls and All Other segments. Its properties include Malls, Associated Centers, Community Centers, Office Buildings, Construction Properties and Mortgages. The company was founded on July 13, 1993 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, TN.