Analyzing Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) and SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC)

SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) and Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares SITE Centers and Equity Commonwealth’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SITE Centers	164.10%	34.20%	19.41%
Equity Commonwealth	82.00%	2.09%	1.96%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SITE Centers and Equity Commonwealth”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SITE Centers	$539.46 million	1.52	$265.70 million	$13.67	1.14
Equity Commonwealth	$60.52 million	35.74	$91.16 million	$0.39	51.67

SITE Centers has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Commonwealth. SITE Centers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equity Commonwealth, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

SITE Centers has a beta of 1.61, indicating that its stock price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Commonwealth has a beta of 0.27, indicating that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.7% of SITE Centers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of Equity Commonwealth shares are held by institutional investors. 10.1% of SITE Centers shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Equity Commonwealth shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for SITE Centers and Equity Commonwealth, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SITE Centers	0	7	2	0	2.22
Equity Commonwealth	0	0	0	0	0.00

SITE Centers currently has a consensus target price of $39.38, suggesting a potential upside of 152.08%. Given SITE Centers’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SITE Centers is more favorable than Equity Commonwealth.

Summary

SITE Centers beats Equity Commonwealth on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SITE Centers

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.

About Equity Commonwealth

Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) is a Chicago based, internally managed and self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) with commercial office properties in the United States. EQC's portfolio is comprised of four properties totaling 1.5 million square feet.