Contrasting Rural Funds Group (OTC:RFNDF) & Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI)

Rural Funds Group (OTC:RFNDF) and Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (NYSE:HASI) are both real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Rural Funds Group and Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rural Funds Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital	0	2	5	0	2.71

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital has a consensus price target of $39.50, suggesting a potential upside of 58.51%. Given Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital is more favorable than Rural Funds Group.

Profitability

This table compares Rural Funds Group and Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rural Funds Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital	19.94%	10.20%	3.60%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.0% of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Rural Funds Group and Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rural Funds Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital	$239.74 million	11.15	$41.50 million	$0.56	44.50

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital has higher revenue and earnings than Rural Funds Group.

Summary

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital beats Rural Funds Group on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rural Funds Group

Rural Funds Group is an agricultural Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listed on the ASX under the code RFF. RFF owns a diversified portfolio of Australian agricultural assets which are leased predominantly to corporate agricultural operators. RFF targets distribution growth of 4% per annum by owning and improving farms that are leased to good counterparties. RFF is a stapled security, incorporating Rural Funds Trust (ARSN 112 951 578) and RF Active (ARSN 168 740 805).

About Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital

Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. provides capital and services to the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainable infrastructure markets in the United States. The company's projects include building or facility that reduce energy usage or cost through the use of solar generation and energy storage or energy efficiency improvements, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), as well as lighting, energy controls, roofs, windows, building shells, and/or combined heat and power systems. It also focuses in the areas of grid connected projects that deploy cleaner energy sources, such as solar and wind to generate power; and sustainable infrastructure projects, including upgraded transmission or distribution systems, water and storm water infrastructures, transportation fleet enhancements, renewable natural gas plants, and other projects. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland.