FS Investment (FSIC) Competitors

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) and FS Investment (NYSE:FSIC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ESS or FSIC?

96.5% of Essex Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 29.5% of FS Investment shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of Essex Property Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of FS Investment shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to ESS or FSIC?

In the previous week, Essex Property Trust had 20 more articles in the media than FS Investment. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Essex Property Trust and 0 mentions for FS Investment. Essex Property Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.72 beat FS Investment's score of 0.00 indicating that Essex Property Trust is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Essex Property Trust	Very Positive
FS Investment	Neutral

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ESS or FSIC?

Essex Property Trust has higher revenue and earnings than FS Investment. FS Investment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essex Property 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
Essex Property Trust	$1.84B	9.30	$741.52M	$12.44	21.35
FS Investment	$419.31M	9.67	$181.98M	$0.83	20.42

Do analysts recommend ESS or FSIC?

Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus price target of $298.66, suggesting a potential upside of 12.43%. Given Essex Property Trust's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Essex Property Trust is more favorable than FS Investment.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essex Property Trust	1 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
FS Investment	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Is ESS or FSIC a better dividend stock?

Essex Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $10.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. FS Investment pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Essex Property Trust pays out 82.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. FS Investment pays out 91.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essex Property Trust has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years.

Is ESS or FSIC more profitable?

Essex Property Trust has a net margin of 43.51% compared to FS Investment's net margin of -3.73%. Essex Property Trust's return on equity of 13.98% beat FS Investment's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essex Property Trust	43.51%	13.98%	6.16%
FS Investment	-3.73%	9.57%	5.31%

Which has more risk and volatility, ESS or FSIC?

Essex Property Trust has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FS Investment has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Essex Property Trust beats FS Investment on 16 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.