Head-To-Head Contrast: Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) and Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY)

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) and Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Boston Properties and Annaly Capital Management, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boston Properties	0	7	7	0	2.50
Annaly Capital Management	0	2	8	0	2.80

Boston Properties currently has a consensus price target of $82.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.21%. Annaly Capital Management has a consensus price target of $21.11, suggesting a potential upside of 8.29%. Given Boston Properties’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Boston Properties is more favorable than Annaly Capital Management.

Volatility & Risk

Boston Properties has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Annaly Capital Management has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Boston Properties and Annaly Capital Management”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boston Properties	$3.27 billion	3.56	$190.21 million	$2.31	31.92
Annaly Capital Management	$3.73 billion	2.93	-$1.64 billion	($0.07)	-278.50

Boston Properties has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Annaly Capital Management. Annaly Capital Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Boston Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Boston Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Annaly Capital Management pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.3%. Boston Properties pays out 169.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Annaly Capital Management pays out -3,714.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Annaly Capital Management is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Boston Properties and Annaly Capital Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boston Properties	10.75%	4.40%	1.40%
Annaly Capital Management	2.59%	14.75%	1.57%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.7% of Boston Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of Annaly Capital Management shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Boston Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Annaly Capital Management shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Boston Properties

Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Including properties owned by joint ventures, BXP's portfolio totals 53.3 million square feet and 188 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. BXP's properties include 167 office properties, 14 retail properties (including two retail properties under construction/redevelopment), six residential properties (including one residential property under construction) and one hotel. BXP is well-known for its inhouse building management expertise and responsiveness to clients' needs. BXP holds a superior track record of developing premium Central Business District (CBD) office buildings, successful mixed-use complexes, suburban office centers and build-to-suit projects for a diverse array of creditworthy clients. BXP actively works to promote its growth and operations in a sustainable and responsible manner. BXP has earned a twelfth consecutive GRESB Green Star recognition and the highest GRESB 5-star Rating. BXP, an S&P 500 company, was founded in 1970 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and Edward H. Linde and became a public company in 1997.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc., a diversified capital manager, engages in mortgage finance. The company invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages; non-agency residential whole loans and securitized products within the residential and commercial markets; mortgage servicing rights; agency commercial mortgage-backed securities; to-be-announced forward contracts; residential mortgage loans; and agency or private label credit risk transfer securities. It has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT). As a REIT, it is not subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is based in New York, New York.