Digital Realty Trust (DLR) Competitors

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) and Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Does the media prefer EQIX or DLR?

In the previous week, Digital Realty Trust had 4 more articles in the media than Equinix. MarketBeat recorded 39 mentions for Digital Realty Trust and 35 mentions for Equinix. Digital Realty Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Equinix's score of 1.05 indicating that Digital Realty Trust is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equinix	21 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Digital Realty Trust	30 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation and earnings, EQIX or DLR?

Equinix has higher revenue and earnings than Digital Realty Trust. Equinix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Digital Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equinix	$8.75B	8.96	$815M	$9.62	83.31
Digital Realty Trust	$5.55B	10.78	$615.19M	$1.07	166.22

Which has more risk & volatility, EQIX or DLR?

Equinix has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Digital Realty Trust has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is EQIX or DLR a better dividend stock?

Equinix pays an annual dividend of $18.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Digital Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $4.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Equinix pays out 195.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Digital Realty Trust pays out 456.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinix has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of EQIX or DLR?

94.9% of Equinix shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Digital Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Equinix shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Digital Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate EQIX or DLR?

Equinix currently has a consensus price target of $957.05, suggesting a potential upside of 19.42%. Digital Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $188.53, suggesting a potential upside of 6.00%. Given Equinix's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Equinix is more favorable than Digital Realty Trust.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equinix	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	20 Buy rating(s)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.03
Digital Realty Trust	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is EQIX or DLR more profitable?

Digital Realty Trust has a net margin of 23.98% compared to Equinix's net margin of 10.48%. Equinix's return on equity of 6.96% beat Digital Realty Trust's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equinix	10.48%	6.96%	2.66%
Digital Realty Trust	23.98%	6.59%	3.06%

Summary

Equinix beats Digital Realty Trust on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.