Reviewing Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) and Global Medical REIT (NYSE:XRN)

Global Medical REIT (NYSE:XRN) and Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Global Medical REIT and Whitestone REIT”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Medical REIT	$148.21 million	2.97	-$5.84 million	($0.90)	-36.92
Whitestone REIT	$160.86 million	5.16	$49.93 million	$0.95	17.00

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

Volatility & Risk

Global Medical REIT has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

57.5% of Global Medical REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 8.5% of Global Medical REIT shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Global Medical REIT and Whitestone REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Medical REIT	-4.85%	-1.64%	-0.57%
Whitestone REIT	31.04%	11.23%	4.34%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Global Medical REIT and Whitestone REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Medical REIT	0	3	2	1	2.67
Whitestone REIT	0	1	6	1	3.00

Global Medical REIT presently has a consensus price target of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.39%. Whitestone REIT has a consensus price target of $16.80, indicating a potential upside of 4.02%. Given Global Medical REIT’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Global Medical REIT is more favorable than Whitestone REIT.

Dividends

Global Medical REIT pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.0%. Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Global Medical REIT pays out -333.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Whitestone REIT pays out 60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Whitestone REIT has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Global Medical REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Whitestone REIT beats Global Medical REIT on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Medical REIT

Global Medical REIT Inc. (GMRE) is a net-lease medical office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and acquires healthcare facilities and leases those facilities to physician groups and regional and national healthcare systems.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.