Critical Review: Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) and Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT)

Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT) and Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) are both real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.4% of Chatham Lodging Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.5% of Ryman Hospitality Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.1% of Chatham Lodging Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Ryman Hospitality Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Chatham Lodging Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Ryman Hospitality Properties pays an annual dividend of $4.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Chatham Lodging Trust pays out 500.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ryman Hospitality Properties pays out 117.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chatham Lodging Trust has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Ryman Hospitality Properties has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Ryman Hospitality Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Chatham Lodging Trust and Ryman Hospitality Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chatham Lodging Trust	0	3	2	0	2.40
Ryman Hospitality Properties	0	0	12	0	3.00

Chatham Lodging Trust currently has a consensus target price of $13.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.15%. Ryman Hospitality Properties has a consensus target price of $129.73, suggesting a potential upside of 1.05%. Given Ryman Hospitality Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ryman Hospitality Properties is more favorable than Chatham Lodging Trust.

Risk and Volatility

Chatham Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ryman Hospitality Properties has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Chatham Lodging Trust and Ryman Hospitality Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chatham Lodging Trust	$295.08 million	2.10	$15.05 million	$0.08	166.07
Ryman Hospitality Properties	$2.58 billion	3.14	$243.43 million	$4.09	31.39

Ryman Hospitality Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Chatham Lodging Trust. Ryman Hospitality Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chatham Lodging Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Chatham Lodging Trust and Ryman Hospitality Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chatham Lodging Trust	4.00%	1.56%	1.00%
Ryman Hospitality Properties	9.91%	34.54%	4.39%

Summary

Ryman Hospitality Properties beats Chatham Lodging Trust on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chatham Lodging Trust

Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused primarily on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels. The company owns 39 hotels totaling 5,915 rooms/suites in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

About Ryman Hospitality Properties

Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE: RHP) is a leading lodging and hospitality real estate investment trust that specializes in upscale convention center resorts and entertainment experiences. The Company's holdings include Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center; and Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, five of the top seven largest non-gaming convention center hotels in the United States based on total indoor meeting space. The Company also owns the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa as well as two ancillary hotels adjacent to our Gaylord Hotels properties. The Company's hotel portfolio is managed by Marriott International and includes a combined total of 11,414 rooms as well as more than 3 million square feet of total indoor and outdoor meeting space in top convention and leisure destinations across the country. RHP also owns a 70% controlling ownership interest in Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), which is composed of entities owning a growing collection of iconic and emerging country music brands, including the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, WSM 650 AM, Ole Red, Nashville-area attractions, and Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office and retail complex, including the W Austin Hotel and the ACL Live at the Moody Theater, located in downtown Austin, Texas. RHP operates OEG as its Entertainment segment in a taxable REIT subsidiary, and its results are consolidated in the Company's financial results.