Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR – Get Free Report) and Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI – Get Free Report) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Digital Realty Trust and Gaming and Leisure Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Digital Realty Trust | 11.80% | 3.34% | 1.59% |
| Gaming and Leisure Properties | 59.01% | 19.17% | 7.29% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Digital Realty Trust and Gaming and Leisure Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Digital Realty Trust | $6.11 billion | 11.58 | $1.31 billion | $2.06 | 92.63 |
| Gaming and Leisure Properties | $1.59 billion | 7.94 | $825.11 million | $3.41 | 12.77 |
Digital Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Gaming and Leisure Properties. Gaming and Leisure Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Digital Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Digital Realty Trust has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Digital Realty Trust and Gaming and Leisure Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Digital Realty Trust | 0 | 6 | 25 | 1 | 2.84 |
| Gaming and Leisure Properties | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2.50 |
Digital Realty Trust currently has a consensus target price of $219.45, indicating a potential upside of 15.01%. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus target price of $49.91, indicating a potential upside of 14.60%. Given Digital Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Digital Realty Trust is more favorable than Gaming and Leisure Properties.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
99.7% of Digital Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Digital Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Digital Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $4.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.5%. Digital Realty Trust pays out 236.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays out 96.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Gaming and Leisure Properties has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Gaming and Leisure Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Digital Realty Trust beats Gaming and Leisure Properties on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Digital Realty Trust
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. It serves the following industries: artificial intelligence (AI), networks, cloud, digital media, mobile, financial services, healthcare, and gaming. The company was founded on March 9, 2004, and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.
About Gaming and Leisure Properties
Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.
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