Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:RIOCF) Critical Analysis

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX – Get Rating) and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:RIOCF – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Dividends

Alexander & Baldwin pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.4%. Alexander & Baldwin pays out -112.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 57.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Alexander & Baldwin has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Alexander & Baldwin and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alexander & Baldwin	$230.50 million	5.75	-$50.60 million	($0.78)	-23.42
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.46	6.12

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Alexander & Baldwin. Alexander & Baldwin is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Alexander & Baldwin and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alexander & Baldwin	-18.24%	3.36%	2.00%
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.6% of Alexander & Baldwin shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.6% of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Alexander & Baldwin shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Alexander & Baldwin and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alexander & Baldwin	0	1	0	0	2.00
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	2	0	3.00

Alexander & Baldwin currently has a consensus price target of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.47%. RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has a consensus price target of $24.92, suggesting a potential upside of 65.34%. Given RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust is more favorable than Alexander & Baldwin.

About Alexander & Baldwin

(Get Rating)

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. engages in real estate business. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Real Estate, Land Operations, and Materials and Construction. The Commercial Real Estate segment includes investments and acquisitions, construction and development, in-house leasing and property management, and asset management. The Land Operations segment consists of legacy assets and landholdings that are subject to the company’s simplification and monetization effort. The Materials and Construction segment deals with asphalt paving contractor and natural materials and infrastructure construction services. The company was founded by Samuel Thomas Alexander and Henry Perrine Baldwin on 1870 and is headquartered in Honolulu, HI.

About RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

(Get Rating)

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust is a closed-end trust engaged in owning, development, and management of retail-focused properties. Its property portfolio includes mixed-use or urban, grocery anchored, open air, and enclosed centers. The company was founded by Edward Sonshine on July 10, 1981 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.