Head to Head Survey: Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) vs. Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT)

Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) and Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and Piedmont Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Four Corners Property Trust	$268.07 million	9.47	$100.47 million	$1.09	21.95
Piedmont Realty Trust	$570.32 million	1.84	-$79.06 million	($0.57)	-14.75

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

Profitability

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and Piedmont Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Four Corners Property Trust	38.04%	7.39%	3.98%
Piedmont Realty Trust	-12.44%	-4.51%	-1.75%

Risk and Volatility

Four Corners Property Trust has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Four Corners Property Trust and Piedmont Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Four Corners Property Trust	0	6	2	0	2.25
Piedmont Realty Trust	1	3	1	0	2.00

Four Corners Property Trust presently has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.03%. Piedmont Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.07%. Given Four Corners Property Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Four Corners Property Trust is more favorable than Piedmont Realty Trust.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.7% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Four Corners Property Trust beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Four Corners Property Trust

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. engages in the owning, acquisition, and leasing of properties for use in the restaurant and food-service related industries. It operates through the Real Estate Operations and Restaurant Operations segments. The Real Estate Operations segment consists of rental revenues generated by leasing restaurant properties. The Restaurant Operations segment includes the Kerrow Restaurant operating business. The company was founded on July 2, 2015 and is headquartered in Mill Valley, CA.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. The Company was designated an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was the only office REIT headquartered in the Southeast to receive those designations. Approximately 85% of the Company's square footage is Energy Star certified and nearly 70% is LEED certified. Piedmont is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.