Critical Survey: Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) and Safehold (NYSE:SAFE)

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) and Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) are both real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Safehold has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Weyerhaeuser has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Safehold and Weyerhaeuser’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Safehold	27.70%	4.76%	1.62%
Weyerhaeuser	6.89%	1.49%	0.85%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Safehold and Weyerhaeuser”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Safehold	$385.55 million	2.99	$114.47 million	$1.62	10.06
Weyerhaeuser	$6.85 billion	2.69	$324.00 million	$0.65	39.38

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

Dividends

Safehold pays an annual dividend of $0.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Weyerhaeuser pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Safehold pays out 43.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Weyerhaeuser pays out 129.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Safehold has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Weyerhaeuser has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Safehold is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.4% of Safehold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Weyerhaeuser shares are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Safehold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Weyerhaeuser shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Safehold and Weyerhaeuser, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Safehold	1	6	3	0	2.20
Weyerhaeuser	0	4	6	1	2.73

Safehold currently has a consensus target price of $18.71, indicating a potential upside of 14.79%. Weyerhaeuser has a consensus target price of $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.31%. Given Safehold’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Safehold is more favorable than Weyerhaeuser.

Summary

Safehold beats Weyerhaeuser on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Safehold

Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE) is revolutionizing real estate ownership by providing a new and better way for owners to unlock the value of the land beneath their buildings. Having created the modern ground lease industry in 2017, Safehold continues to help owners of high quality multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality, student housing, life science and mixed-use properties generate higher returns with less risk. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT), seeks to deliver safe, growing income and long-term capital appreciation to its shareholders.

About Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards. We are also one of the largest manufacturers of wood products in North America. Our company is a real estate investment trust. In 2022, we generated $10.2 billion in net sales and employed approximately 9,200 people who serve customers worldwide. Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WY.