Does Cedar Realty Trust, Inc.'s (NYSE:CDR) CEO Pay Matter?
Bruce Schanzer became the CEO of Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CDR) in 2011. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
View our latest analysis for Cedar Realty Trust
How Does Bruce Schanzer's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
According to our data, Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$91m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$11m over the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$800k. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under US$200m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$602k.
Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of Cedar Realty Trust. On an industry level, roughly 16% of total compensation represents salary and 84% is other remuneration. Readers will want to know that Cedar Realty Trust pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the wider sector.
As you can see, Bruce Schanzer is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Cedar Realty Trust has changed from year to year.
Is Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. Growing?
Over the last three years Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a positive direction by an average of 21% per year (using a line of best fit). It saw its revenue drop 5.2% over the last year.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.
Has Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 75% over three years, some Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.
In Summary...
We compared total CEO remuneration at Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. On the other hand returns to investors over the same period have probably disappointed many. Considering positive per-share earnings movement, but keeping in mind the weak returns, we'd need more time to form a view on CEO compensation. Taking a breather from CEO compensation, we've spotted 4 warning signs for Cedar Realty Trust (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the stock.
Important note: Cedar Realty Trust may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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