Head-To-Head Contrast: Empiric Student Property (OTCMKTS:EPCFF) versus STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG)

STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG) and Empiric Student Property (OTCMKTS:EPCFF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares STAG Industrial and Empiric Student Property’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
STAG Industrial	$707.84 million	10.40	$192.85 million	$1.00	40.43
Empiric Student Property	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

STAG Industrial has higher revenue and earnings than Empiric Student Property.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for STAG Industrial and Empiric Student Property, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STAG Industrial	0	6	3	0	2.33
Empiric Student Property	0	0	0	0	N/A

STAG Industrial currently has a consensus price target of $39.50, indicating a potential downside of 1.62%. Given STAG Industrial’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe STAG Industrial is more favorable than Empiric Student Property.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.7% of STAG Industrial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of STAG Industrial shares are held 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.

Profitability

This table compares STAG Industrial and Empiric Student Property’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STAG Industrial	24.92%	5.21%	2.88%
Empiric Student Property	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

STAG Industrial beats Empiric Student Property on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About STAG Industrial

We are a REIT focused on the acquisition, ownership, and operation of industrial properties throughout the United States. Our platform is designed to (i) identify properties for acquisition that offer relative value across CBRE-EA Tier 1 industrial real estate markets, industries, and tenants through the principled application of our proprietary risk assessment model, (ii) provide growth through sophisticated industrial operation and an attractive opportunity set, and (iii) capitalize our business appropriately given the characteristics of our assets. We are organized and conduct our operations to maintain our qualification as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), and generally are not subject to federal income tax to the extent we currently distribute our income to our stockholders and maintain our qualification as a REIT. We remain subject to state and local taxes on our income and property and to U.S. federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income. As of December 31, 2023, we owned 569 buildings in 41 states with approximately 112.3 million rentable square feet, consisting of 493 warehouse/distribution buildings, 70 light manufacturing buildings, one flex/office building, and five Value Add Portfolio buildings. In addition, as of December 31, 2023, we had six development projects (which are not included in the building count noted above). While the majority of our portfolio consists of single-tenant properties, we also own a growing number of multi-tenant properties. As of December 31, 2023, our buildings were approximately 98.2% leased, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 2.9% of our total annualized base rental revenue and no single industry accounting for more than approximately 11.0% of our total annualized base rental revenue. We intend to maintain a diversified mix of tenants to limit our exposure to any single tenant or industry. As of December 31, 2023, our Operating Portfolio was approximately 98.4% leased. SL Rent Change on new and renewal leases together grew approximately 44.0% and 24.3% during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and our Cash Rent Change on new and renewal leases together grew approximately 31.0% and 14.3% during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We have fully integrated acquisition, leasing and operations platforms led by a senior management team with decades of industrial real estate experience. Our mission is to deliver attractive long-term stockholder returns in all market environments by growing cash flow through disciplined investment in high-quality real estate while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

About Empiric Student Property

Empiric Student Property plc is a leading provider and operator of modern, predominantly direct-let, premium student accommodation serving key UK universities. Investing in both operating and development assets, Empiric is a fully integrated operational student property business focused on premium studio-led accommodation managed through its Hello Student operating platform, that is attractive to affluent growing student segments. The Company, an internally managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") incorporated in England and Wales, listed on the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority, was admitted to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange in June 2014. The Company is classified as a commercial company listed under chapter 6 of the UK Listing rules and as such is not an alternative investment fund ("AIF") for the purposes of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ("AIFMD") and is not required to provide investors with a Key information Document ("KID") in accordance with the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products ("PRIIPs") regulations.