Head-To-Head Analysis: Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) & Office Properties Income Trust (NASDAQ:OPI)

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) and Office Properties Income Trust (NASDAQ:OPI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Equity Residential has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Office Properties Income Trust has a beta of 1.71, indicating that its stock price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Residential and Office Properties Income Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equity Residential	30.63%	8.57%	4.58%
Office Properties Income Trust	-62.99%	-25.56%	-8.02%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.7% of Equity Residential shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of Office Properties Income Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Equity Residential shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Office Properties Income Trust shares are held 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.

Dividends

Equity Residential pays an annual dividend of $2.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Office Properties Income Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Equity Residential pays out 112.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equity Residential has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Equity Residential is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Equity Residential and Office Properties Income Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Residential	$3.09 billion	8.29	$1.12 billion	$2.50	27.39
Office Properties Income Trust	$466.97 million	N/A	-$136.11 million	N/A	N/A

Equity Residential has higher revenue and earnings than Office Properties Income Trust.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Equity Residential and Office Properties Income Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equity Residential	0	13	9	1	2.48
Office Properties Income Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00

Equity Residential currently has a consensus price target of $70.65, indicating a potential upside of 3.16%. Given Equity Residential’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Equity Residential is more favorable than Office Properties Income Trust.

Summary

Equity Residential beats Office Properties Income Trust on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Austin.

About Office Properties Income Trust

Office Properties Income Trust is a real estate investment trust. It owns, operates, and leases office buildings to single tenants and multi-tenant buildings. The company was founded on February 17, 2009 and is headquartered in Newton, MA.