Tanger (NYSE:SKT – Get Free Report) and Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

This table compares Tanger and Saul Centers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Tanger and Saul Centers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Tanger presently has a consensus price target of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.20%. Given Tanger’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Tanger is more favorable than Saul Centers.

Tanger has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Saul Centers has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

85.2% of Tanger shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.0% of Saul Centers shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Tanger shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 56.6% of Saul Centers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

This table compares Tanger and Saul Centers”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

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

Tanger pays an annual dividend of $1.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Saul Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.8%. Tanger pays out 124.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Saul Centers pays out 203.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Tanger has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Tanger beats Saul Centers on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.