American Strategic Investment (NYSE:NYC – Get Free Report) and Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.
Volatility & Risk
American Strategic Investment has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Whitestone REIT has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
American Strategic Investment pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. American Strategic Investment pays out -0.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Whitestone REIT pays out 76.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| American Strategic Investment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Whitestone REIT | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
Whitestone REIT has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.23%. Given Whitestone REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Whitestone REIT is more favorable than American Strategic Investment.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares American Strategic Investment and Whitestone REIT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| American Strategic Investment | $61.57 million | 0.50 | -$105.92 million | ($55.88) | -0.21 |
| Whitestone REIT | $155.51 million | 4.75 | $19.18 million | $0.71 | 20.44 |
Whitestone REIT has higher revenue and earnings than American Strategic Investment. American Strategic Investment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Whitestone REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares American Strategic Investment and Whitestone REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| American Strategic Investment | -334.85% | -17.68% | -4.58% |
| Whitestone REIT | 13.97% | 4.98% | 1.88% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
48.0% of American Strategic Investment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of American Strategic Investment shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Whitestone REIT beats American Strategic Investment on 15 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About American Strategic Investment
American Strategic Investment Co. (NYSE: NYC) owns a portfolio of high-quality commercial real estate located within the five boroughs of New York City.
About Whitestone REIT
Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.
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