Head to Head Analysis: Ventas (NYSE:VTR) and Franklin Street Properties (NYSE:FSP)

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) and Franklin Street Properties (NYSE:FSP) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Ventas has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Street Properties has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Ventas pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Franklin Street Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Ventas pays out 581.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Franklin Street Properties pays out -6.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Ventas and Franklin Street Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ventas	1.65%	0.82%	0.32%
Franklin Street Properties	-43.90%	-7.79%	-5.30%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ventas and Franklin Street Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ventas	$4.92 billion	5.92	$81.15 million	$0.33	201.88
Franklin Street Properties	$115.99 million	1.35	-$52.72 million	($0.64)	-2.36

Ventas has higher revenue and earnings than Franklin Street Properties. Franklin Street Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ventas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Ventas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of Franklin Street Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Ventas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Franklin Street Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Ventas and Franklin Street Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ventas	0	3	7	2	2.92
Franklin Street Properties	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ventas currently has a consensus price target of $72.90, suggesting a potential upside of 9.43%. Given Ventas’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Ventas is more favorable than Franklin Street Properties.

Summary

Ventas beats Franklin Street Properties on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments. Ventas leverages its unmatched operational expertise, data-driven insights from its Ventas Operational InsightsTM platform, extensive relationships and strong financial position to achieve its goal of delivering outsized performance across approximately 1,400 properties. The Ventas portfolio is composed of senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, research centers and healthcare facilities in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company benefits from a seasoned team of talented professionals who share a commitment to excellence, integrity and a common purpose of helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives.

About Franklin Street Properties

Franklin Street Properties Corp., based in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is focused on infill and central business district (CBD) office properties in the U.S. Sunbelt and Mountain West, as well as select opportunistic markets. FSP seeks value-oriented investments with an eye towards long-term growth and appreciation, as well as current income. FSP is a Maryland corporation that operates in a manner intended to qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes.