Financial Survey: Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) versus Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW)

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) and Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Highwoods Properties and Brandywine Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Highwoods Properties	0	8	0	0	2.00
Brandywine Realty Trust	3	3	0	0	1.50

Highwoods Properties currently has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.61%. Brandywine Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.53%. Given Brandywine Realty Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Brandywine Realty Trust is more favorable than Highwoods Properties.

Profitability

This table compares Highwoods Properties and Brandywine Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Highwoods Properties	22.56%	7.68%	2.98%
Brandywine Realty Trust	-27.60%	-19.24%	-3.97%

Risk and Volatility

Highwoods Properties has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brandywine Realty Trust has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Highwoods Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Brandywine Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.8%. Highwoods Properties pays out 118.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Brandywine Realty Trust pays out -40.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brandywine Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.3% of Highwoods Properties shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Brandywine Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Highwoods Properties shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Brandywine Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Highwoods Properties and Brandywine 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
Highwoods Properties	$806.11 million	4.31	$159.61 million	$1.69	18.64
Brandywine Realty Trust	$502.51 million	1.10	-$178.25 million	($0.80)	-4.07

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

Summary

Highwoods Properties beats Brandywine Realty Trust on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc., headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa. Highwoods is in the work-placemaking business. We believe that by creating environments and experiences where the best and brightest can achieve together what they cannot apart, we can deliver greater value to our customers, their teammates and, in turn, our stakeholders.

About Brandywine Realty Trust

Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) is one of the largest, publicly traded, full-service, integrated real estate companies in the United States with a core focus in the Philadelphia and Austin markets. Organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), we own, develop, lease and manage an urban, town center and transit-oriented portfolio comprising 160 properties and 22.6 million square feet as of September 30, 2023 which excludes assets held for sale. Our purpose is to shape, connect and inspire the world around us through our expertise, the relationships we foster, the communities in which we live and work, and the history we build together.