Analyzing Hammerson (OTCMKTS:HMSNF) and Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS)

Hammerson (OTCMKTS:HMSNF) and Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Hammerson has a beta of 1.72, suggesting that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Saul Centers has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hammerson and Saul Centers”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hammerson	$167.01 million	8.91	-$63.94 million	N/A	N/A
Saul Centers	$267.61 million	3.38	$52.69 million	$1.84	20.36

Saul Centers has higher revenue and earnings than Hammerson.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Saul Centers shares are held by institutional investors. 56.6% of Saul Centers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Hammerson and Saul Centers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hammerson	N/A	N/A	N/A
Saul Centers	20.84%	17.16%	2.72%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Hammerson and Saul Centers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hammerson	0	0	0	2	4.00
Saul Centers	0	0	1	0	3.00

Saul Centers has a consensus target price of $45.50, indicating a potential upside of 21.48%. Given Saul Centers’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Saul Centers is more favorable than Hammerson.

Summary

Saul Centers beats Hammerson on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hammerson

Hammerson is a cities business. An owner, operator and developer of prime urban real estate, with a portfolio value of £4.7billion (as at 30 June 2023), in some of the fastest growing cities in the UK, Ireland and France. Our portfolio and adjacent lands leverage our experience and capabilities to create and manage exceptional city centre destinations with the opportunity to drive value and reshape entire neighbourhoods. Our assets are high profile and play an important role in our communities, welcoming c. 175 million visitors each year and supporting 20,000+ jobs though our retail, dining and social occupiers. These destinations include Bullring in Birmingham, The Oracle in Reading, Dundrum Estate, Dublin and Terraces du Port in Marseille. We also hold investments in Value Retail, best-in-class villages such as Bicester Village, Oxfordshire. Hammerson also holds 80 acres of attractive pre-development and strategic land. This includes complementary adjacent land, creating optionality to enhance both the scale and diversity of the existing estate, and stand-alone land opportunities. These include Martineau Galleries in Birmingham and Bishopsgate Goodsyard, Shoreditch.

About Saul Centers

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties. Over 85% of the Company’s property operating income is generated from properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.