Is Cedar Realty Trust, Inc.’s (NYSE:CDR) CEO Pay Justified?
Bruce Schanzer has been the CEO of Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CDR) since 2011. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we’ll consider growth that the business demonstrates. Third, we’ll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
Check out 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$291m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$1.5m. (This is based on the year to December 2017). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$800k. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$100m to US$400m, we found the median CEO compensation was US$990k.
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 get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Cedar Realty Trust, below.
Is Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. Growing?
On average over the last three years, Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. has shrunk earnings per share by 91% each year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 4.1% over last year.
Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. The modest increase in revenue in the last year isn’t enough to make me overlook the disappointing change in earnings per share. It’s hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 49% 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. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
Earnings per share have not grown in three years, and the revenue growth fails to impress us.
Over the same period, investors would have come away with nothing in the way of share price gains. Some might well form the view that the CEO is paid too generously! CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Cedar Realty Trust (free visualization of insider trades).
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
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. Thank you for reading.
