Financial Survey: Site Centers (NYSE:SITC) versus Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT)

Site Centers (NYSE:SITC) and Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Dividends

Site Centers pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.5%. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Site Centers pays out 15.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays out 97.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essential Properties Realty Trust has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Site Centers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Site Centers and Essential Properties Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Site Centers	156.72%	43.13%	24.02%
Essential Properties Realty Trust	43.46%	6.30%	3.81%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Site Centers and Essential Properties Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Site Centers	1	2	0	0	1.67
Essential Properties Realty Trust	0	1	9	1	3.00

Site Centers currently has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 46.65%. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $36.95, suggesting a potential upside of 18.57%. Given Site Centers’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Site Centers is more favorable than Essential Properties Realty Trust.

Volatility and Risk

Site Centers has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.7% of Site Centers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.0% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Site Centers shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Site Centers and Essential Properties Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Site Centers	$123.65 million	2.31	$177.86 million	$3.36	1.62
Essential Properties Realty Trust	$590.66 million	11.41	$253.01 million	$1.27	24.54

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

Summary

Essential Properties Realty Trust beats Site Centers on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Site Centers

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis. As of December 31, 2021, it had a portfolio of 1, 451 properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.