Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) versus Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP) Critical Comparison

Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP) and Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hudson Pacific Properties	-67.89%	-19.05%	-7.27%
Whitestone REIT	30.67%	11.12%	4.34%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Hudson Pacific Properties and Whitestone REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hudson Pacific Properties	2	6	4	1	2.31
Whitestone REIT	0	9	1	0	2.10

Hudson Pacific Properties presently has a consensus price target of $14.82, suggesting a potential upside of 0.94%. Whitestone REIT has a consensus price target of $17.50, suggesting a potential downside of 8.11%. Given Hudson Pacific Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Hudson Pacific Properties is more favorable than Whitestone REIT.

Risk and Volatility

Hudson Pacific Properties has a beta of 1.94, meaning that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hudson Pacific Properties and Whitestone REIT”s gross 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	0.96	-$561.69 million	($10.10)	-1.45
Whitestone REIT	$160.86 million	6.08	$49.93 million	$0.96	19.84

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.6% of Hudson Pacific Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Hudson Pacific Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Whitestone REIT 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.

Summary

Whitestone REIT beats Hudson Pacific Properties on 8 of the 15 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 Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.