Comparing American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) and EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) and EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.4% of American Assets Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.7% of EPR Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 36.8% of American Assets Trust 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, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Assets Trust and EPR Properties”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Assets Trust	$457.86 million	2.69	$72.82 million	$1.16	17.39
EPR Properties	$698.07 million	6.02	$146.07 million	$2.03	27.21

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

Dividends

American Assets Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. EPR Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. American Assets Trust pays out 117.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. 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. American Assets Trust has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and EPR Properties has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. American Assets Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk and Volatility

American Assets Trust has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EPR Properties has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for American Assets Trust and EPR Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Assets Trust	0	3	0	0	2.00
EPR Properties	0	5	3	1	2.56

American Assets Trust presently has a consensus target price of $20.50, indicating a potential upside of 1.64%. EPR Properties has a consensus target price of $59.36, indicating a potential upside of 7.45%. Given EPR Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe EPR Properties is more favorable than American Assets Trust.

Profitability

This table compares American Assets Trust and EPR Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Assets Trust	16.26%	6.47%	2.34%
EPR Properties	25.28%	7.66%	3.21%

Summary

EPR Properties beats American Assets Trust on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Assets Trust

American Assets Trust, Inc. is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust ("REIT"), headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has over 55 years of experience in acquiring, improving, developing and managing premier office, retail, and residential properties throughout the United States in some of the nation's most dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry markets primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Texas and Hawaii. The company's office portfolio comprises approximately 4.1 million rentable square feet, and its retail portfolio comprises approximately 3.1 million rentable square feet. In addition, the company owns one mixed-use property (including approximately 94,000 rentable square feet of retail space and a 369-room all-suite hotel) and 2,110 multifamily units. In 2011, the company was formed to succeed to the real estate business of American Assets, Inc., a privately held corporation founded in 1967 and, as such, has significant experience, long-standing relationships and extensive knowledge of its core markets, submarkets and asset classes.

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.