Head to Head Review: One Liberty Properties (NYSE:OLP) and RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ)

One Liberty Properties (NYSE:OLP) and RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Dividends

One Liberty Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. RLJ Lodging Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. One Liberty Properties pays out 153.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. RLJ Lodging Trust pays out 3,000.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. RLJ Lodging Trust has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. One Liberty Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

36.2% of One Liberty Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.4% of One Liberty Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares One Liberty Properties and RLJ Lodging Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
One Liberty Properties	26.20%	8.40%	3.12%
RLJ Lodging Trust	2.11%	1.54%	0.59%

Volatility and Risk

One Liberty Properties has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RLJ Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for One Liberty Properties and RLJ Lodging Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
One Liberty Properties	1	0	1	0	2.00
RLJ Lodging Trust	3	4	1	1	2.00

One Liberty Properties presently has a consensus target price of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 17.28%. RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus target price of $8.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.14%. Given One Liberty Properties’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe One Liberty Properties is more favorable than RLJ Lodging Trust.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares One Liberty Properties and RLJ Lodging Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
One Liberty Properties	$97.23 million	5.26	$25.47 million	$1.17	20.04
RLJ Lodging Trust	$1.35 billion	0.92	$28.51 million	$0.02	408.75

RLJ Lodging Trust has higher revenue and earnings than One Liberty Properties. One Liberty Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RLJ Lodging Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

One Liberty Properties beats RLJ Lodging Trust on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About One Liberty Properties

One Liberty Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in acquisition, ownership, and management of the geographically diversified portfolio consisting primarily of industrial, retail, restaurant, health and fitness, and theater properties, many of which are subject to long-term leases. The properties in the firm’s portfolio include net leases, long-term lease, and scheduled rent increases. The company was founded in December 1982 and is headquartered in Great Neck, NY.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.