Whitestone REIT (WSR) Competitors

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) and Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, media sentiment, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Does the media favor WSR or REG?

In the previous week, Regency Centers had 14 more articles in the media than Whitestone REIT. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Regency Centers and 5 mentions for Whitestone REIT. Whitestone REIT's average media sentiment score of 0.66 beat Regency Centers' score of 0.59 indicating that Whitestone REIT is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Whitestone REIT	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Regency Centers	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of WSR or REG?

69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Regency Centers shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Regency Centers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk and volatility, WSR or REG?

Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regency Centers has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Is WSR or REG more profitable?

Regency Centers has a net margin of 27.21% compared to Whitestone REIT's net margin of 20.15%. Whitestone REIT's return on equity of 7.23% beat Regency Centers' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Whitestone REIT	20.15%	7.23%	2.77%
Regency Centers	27.21%	5.98%	3.22%

Is WSR or REG a better dividend stock?

Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Regency Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Whitestone REIT pays out 90.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Regency Centers pays out 133.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Whitestone REIT has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Regency Centers has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Whitestone REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, WSR or REG?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Whitestone REIT	$154.28M	4.20	$36.89M	$0.60	21.23
Regency Centers	$1.45B	8.84	$400.39M	$2.12	33.39

Do analysts prefer WSR or REG?

Whitestone REIT currently has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.74%. Regency Centers has a consensus target price of $78.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.18%. Given Whitestone REIT's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Whitestone REIT is more favorable than Regency Centers.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Whitestone REIT	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Regency Centers	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.77

Summary

Regency Centers beats Whitestone REIT on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.