Head-To-Head Comparison: Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) and Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR)

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) and Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Brixmor Property Group pays an annual dividend of $1.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Healthcare Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.1%. Brixmor Property Group pays out 107.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Healthcare Realty Trust pays out -167.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brixmor Property Group has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Healthcare Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brixmor Property Group and Healthcare Realty Trust’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brixmor Property Group	$1.25 billion	5.09	$305.09 million	$1.01	20.82
Healthcare Realty Trust	$1.34 billion	3.89	-$278.26 million	($0.74)	-18.51

Brixmor Property Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Healthcare Realty Trust. Healthcare Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brixmor Property Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Brixmor Property Group and Healthcare Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brixmor Property Group	0	3	4	0	2.57
Healthcare Realty Trust	0	8	2	0	2.20

Brixmor Property Group currently has a consensus target price of $25.38, indicating a potential upside of 20.66%. Healthcare Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $17.20, indicating a potential upside of 25.55%. Given Healthcare Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Healthcare Realty Trust is more favorable than Brixmor Property Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.4% of Brixmor Property Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Brixmor Property Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Healthcare Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Brixmor Property Group and Healthcare Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brixmor Property Group	24.50%	10.63%	3.66%
Healthcare Realty Trust	-20.71%	-3.87%	-2.11%

Risk and Volatility

Brixmor Property Group has a beta of 1.53, indicating that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Healthcare Realty Trust has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Brixmor Property Group beats Healthcare Realty Trust on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brixmor Property Group

Brixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 362 retail centers comprise approximately 64 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas. The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision to be the center of the communities we serve and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers. Brixmor is a proud real estate partner to over 5,000 retailers including The TJX Companies, The Kroger Co., Publix Super Markets and Ross Stores.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty (NYSE: HR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates medical outpatient buildings primarily located around market-leading hospital campuses. The Company selectively grows its portfolio through property acquisition and development. As the first and largest REIT to specialize in medical outpatient buildings, Healthcare Realty's portfolio includes more than 700 properties totaling over 40 million square feet concentrated in 15 growth markets.