Reviewing UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) and Clipper Realty (NYSE:CLPR)

UMH Properties (NYSE:UMH) and Clipper Realty (NYSE:CLPR) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Dividends

UMH Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Clipper Realty pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.4%. UMH Properties pays out 750.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Clipper Realty pays out -40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. UMH Properties has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Clipper Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.4% of UMH Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.6% of Clipper Realty shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.3% of UMH Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 54.6% of Clipper Realty shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for UMH Properties and Clipper Realty, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UMH Properties	0	2	2	1	2.80
Clipper Realty	0	1	0	0	2.00

UMH Properties presently has a consensus target price of $17.25, suggesting a potential upside of 4.90%. Given UMH Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe UMH Properties is more favorable than Clipper Realty.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares UMH Properties and Clipper Realty”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
UMH Properties	$261.75 million	5.36	$26.50 million	$0.12	137.04
Clipper Realty	$151.46 million	0.35	-$19.90 million	($0.93)	-3.57

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

Volatility and Risk

UMH Properties has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clipper Realty has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares UMH Properties and Clipper Realty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UMH Properties	11.55%	5.40%	1.86%
Clipper Realty	-8.36%	N/A	-1.03%

Summary

UMH Properties beats Clipper Realty on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About UMH Properties

UMH Properties, Inc., which was organized in 1968, is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 135 manufactured home communities containing approximately 25,800 developed homesites. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. UMH also has an ownership interest in and operates two communities in Florida, containing 363 sites, through its joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate

About Clipper Realty

Clipper Realty Inc. (NYSE: CLPR) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate company that acquires, owns, manages, operates, and repositions multifamily residential and commercial properties in the New York metropolitan area, with a portfolio in Manhattan and Brooklyn.