Shareholders Will Most Likely Find Cohen & Steers, Inc.'s (NYSE:CNS) CEO Compensation Acceptable

Key Insights

• Cohen & Steers to hold its Annual General Meeting on 2nd of May
• CEO Joe Harvey's total compensation includes salary of US$600.0k
• The total compensation is similar to the average for the industry
• Over the past three years, Cohen & Steers' EPS grew by 4.9% and over the past three years, the total shareholder return was 13%

Performance at Cohen & Steers, Inc. (NYSE:CNS) has been reasonably good and CEO Joe Harvey has done a decent job of steering the company in the right direction. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 2nd of May. We present our case of why we think CEO compensation looks fair.

View our latest analysis for Cohen & Steers

How Does Total Compensation For Joe Harvey Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

At the time of writing, our data shows that Cohen & Steers, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$3.5b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$6.5m for the year to December 2023. That's slightly lower by 3.8% over the previous year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$600k.

On comparing similar companies from the American Capital Markets industry with market caps ranging from US$2.0b to US$6.4b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was US$7.8m. From this we gather that Joe Harvey is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry. Moreover, Joe Harvey also holds US$109m worth of Cohen & Steers stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component	2023	2022	Proportion (2023)
Salary	US$600k	US$600k	9%
Other	US$5.9m	US$6.2m	91%
Total Compensation	US$6.5m	US$6.8m	100%

Speaking on an industry level, nearly 10% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 90% is other remuneration. Our data reveals that Cohen & Steers allocates salary more or less in line with the wider market. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at Cohen & Steers, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Cohen & Steers, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 4.9% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is down 9.8%.

We would prefer it if there was revenue growth, but it is good to see a modest EPS growth at least. It's hard to reach a conclusion about business performance right now. This may be one to watch. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Has Cohen & Steers, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Cohen & Steers, Inc. has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 13% over three years. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

In Summary...

The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed in the upcoming AGM. In saying that, any proposed increase to CEO compensation will still be assessed on how reasonable it is based on performance and industry benchmarks.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. That's why we did some digging and identified 3 warning signs for Cohen & Steers that investors should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Important note: Cohen & Steers is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.