Head to Head Review: Ventas (NYSE:VTR) versus Prologis (NYSE:PLD)

Prologis (NYSE:PLD) and Ventas (NYSE:VTR) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.5% of Prologis shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.2% of Ventas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Prologis shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Ventas 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

Prologis pays an annual dividend of $4.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Ventas pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Prologis pays out 120.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ventas pays out 355.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Prologis has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Ventas has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Prologis is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Prologis and Ventas”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Prologis	$8.79 billion	13.64	$3.33 billion	$3.55	36.24
Ventas	$5.83 billion	6.64	$251.38 million	$0.54	150.97

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Prologis and Ventas, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Prologis	0	7	14	0	2.67
Ventas	0	3	13	0	2.81

Prologis presently has a consensus target price of $137.20, suggesting a potential upside of 6.66%. Ventas has a consensus target price of $90.47, suggesting a potential upside of 10.97%. Given Ventas’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ventas is more favorable than Prologis.

Profitability

This table compares Prologis and Ventas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Prologis	37.86%	5.79%	3.41%
Ventas	4.31%	2.09%	0.94%

Volatility and Risk

Prologis has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ventas has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Prologis beats Ventas on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Prologis

Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. At March 31, 2024, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 1.2 billion square feet (115 million square meters) in 19 countries. Prologis leases modern logistics facilities to a diverse base of approximately 6,700 customers principally across two major categories: business-to-business and retail/online fulfillment.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments. Ventas leverages its unmatched operational expertise, data-driven insights from its Ventas Operational InsightsTM platform, extensive relationships and strong financial position to achieve its goal of delivering outsized performance across approximately 1,400 properties. The Ventas portfolio is composed of senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, research centers and healthcare facilities in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company benefits from a seasoned team of talented professionals who share a commitment to excellence, integrity and a common purpose of helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives.