Comparing Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) & EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) and EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. EPR Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. pays out 223.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. EPR Properties pays out 217.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and EPR Properties has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. EPR Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.7% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.7% of EPR Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of EPR Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and EPR Properties”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	$661.39 million	6.53	$62.69 million	$0.55	62.58
EPR Properties	$698.07 million	6.17	$146.07 million	$1.63	34.74

EPR Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.. EPR Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Phillips Edison & Company, Inc., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and EPR Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	0	4	2	0	2.33
EPR Properties	1	3	3	1	2.50

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. presently has a consensus price target of $38.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.85%. EPR Properties has a consensus price target of $57.29, indicating a potential upside of 1.16%. Given Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. is more favorable than EPR Properties.

Volatility and Risk

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EPR Properties has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and EPR Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	9.91%	2.64%	1.35%
EPR Properties	21.13%	6.30%	2.65%

Summary

EPR Properties beats Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Co., Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of shopping centers. It also offers an investment management business providing property management and advisory services. Its portfolio consists of well-occupied, grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers having a mix of national, regional, and local retailers offering necessity-based goods and services. The company was founded by Jeffrey S. Edison and Michael C. Phillips in 1991 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.

About EPR Properties

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money. We have total assets of approximately $5.7 billion (after accumulated depreciation of approximately $1.4 billion) across 44 states. We adhere to rigorous underwriting and investing criteria centered on key industry, property and tenant level cash flow standards. We believe our focused approach provides a competitive advantage and the potential for stable and attractive returns.