Reviewing Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) & BRT Apartments (NYSE:BRT)

BRT Apartments (NYSE:BRT) and Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares BRT Apartments and Independence Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BRT Apartments	$97.89 million	2.50	-$11.95 million	($0.70)	-18.57
Independence Realty Trust	$657.70 million	5.38	$56.56 million	$0.18	83.32

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

Profitability

This table compares BRT Apartments and Independence Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BRT Apartments	-13.22%	-7.46%	-1.84%
Independence Realty Trust	6.52%	1.22%	0.72%

Volatility & Risk

BRT Apartments has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independence Realty Trust has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for BRT Apartments and Independence Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BRT Apartments	1	1	2	0	2.25
Independence Realty Trust	0	4	8	1	2.77

BRT Apartments presently has a consensus target price of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 53.82%. Independence Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $19.39, suggesting a potential upside of 29.29%. Given BRT Apartments’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe BRT Apartments is more favorable than Independence Realty Trust.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

29.1% of BRT Apartments shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.2% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 42.2% of BRT Apartments shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

BRT Apartments pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. Independence Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. BRT Apartments pays out -142.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Independence Realty Trust pays out 400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Independence Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. BRT Apartments is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Independence Realty Trust beats BRT Apartments on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BRT Apartments

BRT Apartments Corp. is a real estate investment trust. It engages in the ownership, operation, and holding interests in joint ventures that own and operate multi-family properties. The company was founded in June 1972 and is headquartered in Great Neck, NY.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL. IRT’s investment strategy is focused on gaining scale near major employment centers within key amenity rich submarkets that offer good school districts and high-quality retail. IRT aims to provide stockholders attractive risk-adjusted returns through diligent portfolio management, strong operational performance, and a consistent return on capital through distributions and capital appreciation.