Contrasting SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) & First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR)

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) and SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares First Industrial Realty Trust and SITE Centers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Industrial Realty Trust	42.94%	10.64%	5.51%
SITE Centers	164.10%	34.20%	19.41%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for First Industrial Realty Trust and SITE Centers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Industrial Realty Trust	1	6	7	0	2.43
SITE Centers	0	7	2	0	2.22

First Industrial Realty Trust presently has a consensus price target of $58.38, suggesting a potential upside of 22.35%. SITE Centers has a consensus price target of $35.25, suggesting a potential upside of 201.67%. Given SITE Centers’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe SITE Centers is more favorable than First Industrial Realty Trust.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.8% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of SITE Centers shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of SITE Centers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

First Industrial Realty Trust has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SITE Centers has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

First Industrial Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. SITE Centers pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. First Industrial Realty Trust pays out 81.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SITE Centers pays out 5.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Industrial Realty Trust has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. SITE Centers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Industrial Realty Trust and SITE Centers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Industrial Realty Trust	$669.64 million	9.43	$287.55 million	$2.18	21.89
SITE Centers	$277.47 million	2.21	$265.70 million	$9.74	1.20

First Industrial Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than SITE Centers. SITE Centers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Industrial Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

SITE Centers beats First Industrial Realty Trust on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Industrial Realty Trust

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR) is a leading U.S.-only owner, operator, developer and acquirer of logistics properties. Through our fully integrated operating and investing platform, we provide high quality facilities and industry-leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional firms that are essential for their supply chains. Our portfolio and new investments are concentrated in 15 target MSAs with an emphasis on supply-constrained, coastally oriented markets. In total, we own and have under development approximately 68.5 million square feet of industrial space as of December 31, 2023.

About SITE Centers

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.