Reviewing Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP) & Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ)

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP) and Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) are both real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.6% of Hudson Pacific Properties shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.4% of Cousins Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Hudson Pacific Properties shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Cousins Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Hudson Pacific Properties has a beta of 1.96, meaning that its share price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cousins Properties has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Hudson Pacific Properties and Cousins Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hudson Pacific Properties	-70.04%	-20.76%	-7.73%
Cousins Properties	0.62%	0.14%	0.07%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Hudson Pacific Properties and Cousins Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hudson Pacific Properties	3	6	4	0	2.08
Cousins Properties	0	3	7	0	2.70

Hudson Pacific Properties presently has a consensus price target of $15.82, suggesting a potential upside of 32.47%. Cousins Properties has a consensus price target of $31.09, suggesting a potential upside of 12.64%. Given Hudson Pacific Properties’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Hudson Pacific Properties is more favorable than Cousins Properties.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hudson Pacific Properties and Cousins Properties”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hudson Pacific Properties	$831.10 million	0.78	-$561.69 million	($8.85)	-1.35
Cousins Properties	$993.82 million	4.57	$40.50 million	$0.04	690.08

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

Summary

Cousins Properties beats Hudson Pacific Properties on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hudson Pacific Properties

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) is a real estate investment trust serving dynamic tech and media tenants in global epicenters for these synergistic, converging and secular growth industries. Hudson Pacific's unique and high-barrier tech and media focus leverages a full-service, end-to-end value creation platform forged through deep strategic relationships and niche expertise across identifying, acquiring, transforming and developing properties into world-class amenitized, collaborative and sustainable office and studio space.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments.