Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) & Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Critical Analysis

Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) and Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Four Corners Property Trust has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and Whitestone REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Four Corners Property Trust	38.74%	7.38%	4.06%
Whitestone REIT	30.67%	11.12%	4.34%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Four Corners Property Trust and Whitestone REIT, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Four Corners Property Trust	0	6	3	0	2.33
Whitestone REIT	0	9	1	0	2.10

Four Corners Property Trust currently has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.17%. Whitestone REIT has a consensus price target of $17.50, suggesting a potential downside of 8.11%. Given Four Corners Property Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Four Corners Property Trust is more favorable than Whitestone REIT.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.7% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Whitestone REIT shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and Whitestone REIT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Four Corners Property Trust	$294.13 million	9.31	$112.36 million	$1.12	22.29
Whitestone REIT	$160.86 million	6.08	$49.93 million	$0.96	19.84

Four Corners Property Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Whitestone REIT. Whitestone REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Four Corners Property Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Four Corners Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Four Corners Property Trust pays out 131.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Whitestone REIT pays out 59.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Four Corners Property Trust has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Whitestone REIT has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Summary

Four Corners Property Trust beats Whitestone REIT on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Four Corners Property Trust

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. engages in the owning, acquisition, and leasing of properties for use in the restaurant and food-service related industries. It operates through the Real Estate Operations and Restaurant Operations segments. The Real Estate Operations segment consists of rental revenues generated by leasing restaurant properties. The Restaurant Operations segment includes the Kerrow Restaurant operating business. The company was founded on July 2, 2015 and is headquartered in Mill Valley, CA.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.