Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG – Get Free Report) and COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.
Risk & Volatility
Stag Industrial has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, COPT Defense Properties has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
88.7% of Stag Industrial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Stag Industrial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of COPT Defense Properties shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Stag Industrial | $845.18 million | 8.80 | $273.52 million | $1.29 | 30.16 |
| COPT Defense Properties | $763.92 million | 5.40 | $152.32 million | $1.38 | 26.34 |
Stag Industrial has higher revenue and earnings than COPT Defense Properties. COPT Defense Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stag Industrial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Stag Industrial pays an annual dividend of $1.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. COPT Defense Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Stag Industrial pays out 120.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. COPT Defense Properties pays out 92.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stag Industrial has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Stag Industrial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Stag Industrial and COPT Defense Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Stag Industrial | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2.20 |
| COPT Defense Properties | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.63 |
Stag Industrial currently has a consensus price target of $40.40, suggesting a potential upside of 3.83%. COPT Defense Properties has a consensus price target of $35.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.71%. Given Stag Industrial’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Stag Industrial is more favorable than COPT Defense Properties.
Profitability
This table compares Stag Industrial and COPT Defense Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Stag Industrial | 28.25% | 6.80% | 3.47% |
| COPT Defense Properties | 20.10% | 10.02% | 3.51% |
Summary
Stag Industrial beats COPT Defense Properties on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Stag Industrial
STAG Industrial, Inc. is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.
About COPT Defense Properties
COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.
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