Reviewing EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) & Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS)

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) and EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Dividends

Saul Centers pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. EPR Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Saul Centers pays out 178.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. EPR Properties pays out 174.4% 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 has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Saul Centers and EPR Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saul Centers	$277.90 million	2.82	$50.65 million	$1.32	24.38
EPR Properties	$698.07 million	6.38	$146.07 million	$2.03	28.83

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Saul Centers and EPR Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saul Centers	0	0	0	0	0.00
EPR Properties	0	6	2	1	2.44

EPR Properties has a consensus target price of $59.36, indicating a potential upside of 1.41%. Given EPR Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe EPR Properties is more favorable than Saul Centers.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

50.0% of Saul Centers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.7% of EPR Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 56.6% of Saul Centers shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of EPR Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Saul Centers has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EPR Properties has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Saul Centers and EPR Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saul Centers	15.51%	13.79%	2.03%
EPR Properties	25.28%	7.66%	3.21%

Summary

EPR Properties beats Saul Centers on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saul Centers

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties. Over 85% of the Company’s property operating income is generated from properties in the metropolitan Washington, DC/Baltimore area.

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.