American Tower (NYSE:AMT – Get Free Report) and Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST – Get Free Report) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Dividends
American Tower pays an annual dividend of $6.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Host Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. American Tower pays out 108.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Host Hotels & Resorts pays out 85.1% 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 Tower has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Host Hotels & Resorts has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Host Hotels & Resorts is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for American Tower and Host Hotels & Resorts, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| American Tower | 0 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 2.85 |
| Host Hotels & Resorts | 0 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2.54 |
Profitability
This table compares American Tower and Host Hotels & Resorts’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| American Tower | 28.11% | 28.79% | 4.69% |
| Host Hotels & Resorts | 11.12% | 9.90% | 5.07% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
92.7% of American Tower shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of American Tower shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Risk & Volatility
American Tower has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Host Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares American Tower and Host Hotels & Resorts”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| American Tower | $10.45 billion | 8.03 | $2.26 billion | $6.26 | 28.62 |
| Host Hotels & Resorts | $5.93 billion | 1.86 | $697.00 million | $0.94 | 17.04 |
American Tower has higher revenue and earnings than Host Hotels & Resorts. Host Hotels & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Tower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
American Tower beats Host Hotels & Resorts on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About American Tower
American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.
About Host Hotels & Resorts
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.
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