Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) and National Retail Properties (NYSE:NNN) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.
Risk & Volatility
Easterly Government Properties has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Retail Properties has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Easterly Government Properties and National Retail Properties' top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Easterly Government Properties | $221.72 million | 8.33 | $7.21 million | $1.20 | 18.95 |
| National Retail Properties | $670.49 million | 10.17 | $299.18 million | $2.76 | 14.22 |
National Retail Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Easterly Government Properties. National Retail Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Easterly Government Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Easterly Government Properties and National Retail Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Easterly Government Properties | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.63 |
| National Retail Properties | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2.50 |
Easterly Government Properties presently has a consensus price target of $25.4286, suggesting a potential upside of 11.82%. National Retail Properties has a consensus price target of $41.1667, suggesting a potential upside of 4.86%. Given Easterly Government Properties' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Easterly Government Properties is more favorable than National Retail Properties.
Profitability
This table compares Easterly Government Properties and National Retail Properties' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Easterly Government Properties | 4.60% | 0.89% | 0.48% |
| National Retail Properties | 35.97% | 6.09% | 3.18% |
Dividends
Easterly Government Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. National Retail Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Easterly Government Properties pays out 86.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. National Retail Properties pays out 75.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. National Retail Properties has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. National Retail Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
95.9% of Easterly Government Properties shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.2% of National Retail Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 9.9% of Easterly Government Properties shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of National Retail Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
National Retail Properties beats Easterly Government Properties on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
