Head to Head Contrast: SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) vs. Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR)

SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) and Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares SITE Centers and Arbor Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SITE Centers	91.77%	23.05%	11.48%
Arbor Realty Trust	24.59%	15.75%	2.68%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for SITE Centers and Arbor Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SITE Centers	0	4	3	0	2.43
Arbor Realty Trust	2	2	2	0	2.00

SITE Centers presently has a consensus target price of $131.05, indicating a potential upside of 119.74%. Arbor Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $13.83, indicating a potential downside of 10.72%. Given SITE Centers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe SITE Centers is more favorable than Arbor Realty Trust.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.7% of SITE Centers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.3% of Arbor Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 10.1% of SITE Centers shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Arbor Realty Trust 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SITE Centers and Arbor Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SITE Centers	$507.19 million	24.64	$265.70 million	$1.02	58.47
Arbor Realty Trust	$683.14 million	4.28	$371.43 million	$1.61	9.62

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

Dividends

SITE Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Arbor Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.1%. SITE Centers pays out 203.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Arbor Realty Trust pays out 106.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Arbor Realty Trust has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Arbor Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

SITE Centers has a beta of 1.64, meaning that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arbor Realty Trust has a beta of 2.05, meaning that its stock price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SITE Centers beats Arbor Realty Trust on 10 of the 17 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 Arbor Realty Trust

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. invests in a diversified portfolio of structured finance assets in the multifamily, single-family rental, and commercial real estate markets in the United States. The company operates through Structured Business and Agency Business segments. It primarily invests in bridge and mezzanine loans, including junior participating interests in first mortgages, and preferred and direct equity, as well as real estate-related joint ventures, real estate-related notes, and various mortgage-related securities. In addition, the company offers bridge financing products to borrowers who seek short-term capital to be used in an acquisition of property; financing by making preferred equity investments in entities that directly or indirectly own real property; mezzanine financing in the form of loans that are subordinate to a conventional first mortgage loan and senior to the borrower's equity in a transaction; junior participation financing in the form of a junior participating interest in the senior debt; and financing products to borrowers who are looking to acquire conventional, workforce, and affordable single-family housing. Further, it underwrites, originates, sells, and services multifamily mortgage loans through conduit/commercial mortgage-backed securities programs. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Uniondale, New York.