Head to Head Comparison: Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) & Macerich (NYSE:MAC)

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) and Macerich (NYSE:MAC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Essential Properties Realty Trust and Macerich”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essential Properties Realty Trust	$449.61 million	13.54	$203.00 million	$1.18	26.05
Macerich	$918.20 million	4.99	-$194.12 million	($1.75)	-10.35

Essential Properties Realty Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Macerich. Macerich is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essential Properties Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Essential Properties Realty Trust has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Macerich has a beta of 2.27, suggesting that its stock price is 127% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Essential Properties Realty Trust and Macerich, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essential Properties Realty Trust	0	3	8	0	2.73
Macerich	2	5	5	0	2.25

Essential Properties Realty Trust currently has a consensus price target of $35.34, suggesting a potential upside of 14.99%. Macerich has a consensus price target of $19.78, suggesting a potential upside of 9.21%. Given Essential Properties Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Essential Properties Realty Trust is more favorable than Macerich.

Profitability

This table compares Essential Properties Realty Trust and Macerich’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essential Properties Realty Trust	44.48%	6.20%	3.78%
Macerich	-41.33%	-15.15%	-4.89%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.0% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.4% of Macerich shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Macerich shares are held 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.

Dividends

Essential Properties Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Macerich pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays out 101.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Macerich pays out -38.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Properties Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Essential Properties Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Essential Properties Realty Trust beats Macerich on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis. As of December 31, 2021, it had a portfolio of 1, 451 properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for 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 2016 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

About Macerich

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, D.C. corridor. Developing and managing properties that serve as community cornerstones, Macerich currently owns 47 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 44 regional town centers. Macerich is firmly dedicated to advancing environmental goals, social good and sound corporate governance. A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has achieved a #1 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking for the North American retail sector for nine consecutive years (2015-2023).