Head to Head Analysis: SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) & Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE)

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) and SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Alexandria Real Estate Equities and SITE Centers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alexandria Real Estate Equities	9.62%	1.31%	0.79%
SITE Centers	164.10%	34.20%	19.41%

Dividends

Alexandria Real Estate Equities pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. SITE Centers pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.0%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities pays out 317.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SITE Centers pays out 11.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. SITE Centers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Alexandria Real Estate Equities and SITE Centers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alexandria Real Estate Equities	0	9	3	0	2.25
SITE Centers	0	8	2	0	2.20

Alexandria Real Estate Equities currently has a consensus target price of $126.73, indicating a potential upside of 14.75%. SITE Centers has a consensus target price of $58.89, indicating a potential upside of 276.79%. Given SITE Centers’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe SITE Centers is more favorable than Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

Risk and Volatility

Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SITE Centers has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.5% of Alexandria Real Estate Equities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of SITE Centers shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Alexandria Real Estate Equities shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of SITE Centers shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Alexandria Real Estate Equities and SITE Centers”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alexandria Real Estate Equities	$2.89 billion	6.69	$103.64 million	$1.64	67.34
SITE Centers	$539.46 million	1.52	$265.70 million	$13.67	1.14

SITE Centers has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Alexandria Real Estate Equities. SITE Centers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alexandria Real Estate Equities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

SITE Centers beats Alexandria Real Estate Equities on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle. Alexandria has a total market capitalization of $33.1 billion and an asset base in North America of 73.5 million SF as of December 31, 2023, which includes 42.0 million RSF of operating properties, 5.5 million RSF of Class A/A+ properties undergoing construction and one near-term project expected to commence construction in the next two years, 2.1 million RSF of priority anticipated development and redevelopment projects, and 23.9 million SF of future development projects. Alexandria has a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A/A+ properties clustered in life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. Alexandria also provides strategic capital to transformative life science, agrifoodtech, climate innovation, and technology companies through our venture capital platform. We believe our unique business model and diligent underwriting ensure a high-quality and diverse tenant base that results in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value.

About SITE Centers

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.