Critical Review: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) vs. Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT)

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) and Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Empire State Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners	4.40%	3.22%	0.87%
Empire State Realty Trust	6.06%	2.59%	1.11%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

57.9% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.1% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.6% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Empire State Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners	$23.10 billion	0.75	$771.00 million	$0.90	41.82
Empire State Realty Trust	$768.27 million	1.23	$47.60 million	$0.26	21.27

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Empire State Realty Trust. Empire State Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Empire State Realty Trust has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Empire State Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners pays out 202.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Empire State Realty Trust pays out 53.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has raised its dividend for 18 consecutive years. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Empire State Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners	0	3	6	0	2.67
Empire State Realty Trust	2	1	1	0	1.75

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners presently has a consensus target price of $42.13, indicating a potential upside of 11.92%. Empire State Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $7.58, indicating a potential upside of 36.98%. Given Empire State Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Empire State Realty Trust is more favorable than Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

Summary

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners beats Empire State Realty Trust on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services. This segment also offers heating, cooling, and energy solutions; gas distribution; water heaters; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioner rental, as well as other home services. Its Transport segment offers transportation, storage, and handling services for merchandise goods, commodities, and passengers through a network of approximately 22,000 km of track; 5,500 km of track network; 9,800 km of rail; and 3,300 km of motorways. The company's Midstream segment offers natural gas transmission, gathering and processing, and storage services through approximately 15,000 km of natural gas transmission pipelines; 570 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage; 17 natural gas processing plants; and 10,600 km of gas gathering pipelines, as well as 525,000 tonnes polypropylene production capacity. Its Data segment operates approximately 228,000 operational telecom towers; approximately 54,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables; approximately 1 million fiber-to-the-premise connections; two semiconductor manufacturing facilities; and 70 distributed antenna systems, as well as 135 data centers and 750 megawatts of critical load capacity and an additional approximate 670 megawatts of contracted capacity. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. operates as a subsidiary of Brookfield Corporation.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years. As of September 30, 2023, ESRT’s portfolio is comprised of approximately 8.6 million rentable square feet of office space, 0.7 million rentable square feet of retail space and 727 residential units across three multifamily properties.