Reviewing Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) and Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG)

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) and Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.1% of Regency Centers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.0% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Regency Centers shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Regency Centers and Essential Properties Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Regency Centers	0	10	6	1	2.47
Essential Properties Realty Trust	0	1	9	1	3.00

Regency Centers presently has a consensus price target of $81.71, suggesting a potential upside of 5.67%. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $36.55, suggesting a potential upside of 18.27%. Given Essential Properties Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Essential Properties Realty Trust is more favorable than Regency Centers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Regency Centers and Essential Properties Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regency Centers	$1.55 billion	9.11	$527.46 million	$2.90	26.67
Essential Properties Realty Trust	$561.22 million	11.91	$253.01 million	$1.27	24.33

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

Dividends

Regency Centers pays an annual dividend of $3.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Regency Centers pays out 104.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays out 97.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Regency Centers has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Essential Properties Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Essential Properties Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Regency Centers and Essential Properties Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Regency Centers	34.47%	7.99%	4.22%
Essential Properties Realty Trust	43.46%	6.30%	3.81%

Risk & Volatility

Regency Centers has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Essential Properties Realty Trust beats Regency Centers on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Regency Centers

Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers. Operating as a fully integrated real estate company, Regency Centers is a qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) that is self-administered, self-managed, and an S&P 500 Index member.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis. As of December 31, 2021, it had a portfolio of 1, 451 properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.