Reviewing Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) and Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR)

Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) and Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Dividends

Stag Industrial pays an annual dividend of $1.49 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Xenia Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Stag Industrial pays out 114.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Xenia Hotels & Resorts pays out 100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stag Industrial has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years and Xenia Hotels & Resorts has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Stag Industrial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Stag Industrial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of Xenia Hotels & Resorts shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Stag Industrial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Xenia Hotels & Resorts shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Stag Industrial and Xenia Hotels & Resorts’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stag Industrial	29.24%	6.84%	3.52%
Xenia Hotels & Resorts	5.24%	4.50%	1.97%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Stag Industrial and Xenia Hotels & Resorts”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stag Industrial	$823.61 million	8.38	$189.22 million	$1.30	28.43
Xenia Hotels & Resorts	$1.04 billion	1.31	$16.14 million	$0.56	25.69

Stag Industrial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Xenia Hotels & Resorts. Xenia Hotels & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stag Industrial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Stag Industrial and Xenia Hotels & Resorts, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stag Industrial	0	6	3	0	2.33
Xenia Hotels & Resorts	1	2	3	0	2.33

Stag Industrial currently has a consensus target price of $38.89, suggesting a potential upside of 5.23%. Xenia Hotels & Resorts has a consensus target price of $13.40, suggesting a potential downside of 6.85%. Given Stag Industrial’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Stag Industrial is more favorable than Xenia Hotels & Resorts.

Volatility & Risk

Stag Industrial has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xenia Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Stag Industrial beats Xenia Hotels & Resorts on 10 of the 15 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 Xenia Hotels & Resorts

Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of investment in luxury and upper upscale hotels and resorts. It also owns a diversified portfolio of lodging properties operated by Marriott, Kimpton, Hyatt, Aston, Fairmong, and Loews. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.