Financial Analysis: COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) vs. JBG SMITH Properties (NYSE:JBGS)

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

Dividends

JBG SMITH Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. COPT Defense Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. JBG SMITH Properties pays out -50.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. COPT Defense Properties pays out -109.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Profitability

This table compares JBG SMITH Properties and COPT Defense Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JBG SMITH Properties	-25.40%	-6.64%	-2.69%
COPT Defense Properties	-15.75%	-7.52%	-2.71%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares JBG SMITH Properties and COPT Defense Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JBG SMITH Properties	$579.65 million	2.68	-$79.98 million	($1.39)	-12.63
COPT Defense Properties	$684.98 million	5.03	-$73.47 million	($1.08)	-28.31

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for JBG SMITH Properties and COPT Defense Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JBG SMITH Properties	1	0	0	0	1.00
COPT Defense Properties	0	3	5	0	2.63

JBG SMITH Properties presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.13%. COPT Defense Properties has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.90%. Given COPT Defense Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe COPT Defense Properties is more favorable than JBG SMITH Properties.

Risk & Volatility

JBG SMITH Properties has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, COPT Defense Properties has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.5% of JBG SMITH Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of JBG SMITH Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of COPT Defense Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

COPT Defense Properties beats JBG SMITH Properties on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JBG SMITH Properties

JBG SMITH owns, operates, invests in, and develops mixed-use properties in high growth and high barrier-to-entry submarkets in and around Washington, DC, most notably National Landing. Through an intense focus on placemaking, JBG SMITH cultivates vibrant, amenity-rich, walkable neighborhoods throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Approximately 75.0% of JBG SMITH's holdings are in the National Landing submarket in Northern Virginia, which is anchored by four key demand drivers: Amazon's new headquarters; Virginia Tech's under-construction $1 billion Innovation Campus; the submarket's proximity to the Pentagon; and JBG SMITH's deployment of 5G digital infrastructure. JBG SMITH's dynamic portfolio currently comprises 14.2 million square feet of high-growth office, multifamily, and retail assets at share, 99% of which are Metro-served. It also maintains a development pipeline encompassing 8.8 million square feet of mixed-use, primarily multifamily, development opportunities. JBG SMITH is committed to the operation and development of green, smart, and healthy buildings and plans to maintain carbon neutral operations annually.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (USG) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company's tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements. As of December 31, 2023, the Company's Defense/IT Portfolio of 190 properties, including 24 owned through unconsolidated joint ventures, encompassed 21.7 million square feet and was 97.2% leased.