Comparing Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) and LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE:LXP)

Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) and LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE:LXP) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Stag Industrial has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LXP Industrial Trust has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.7% of Stag Industrial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of LXP Industrial Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Stag Industrial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of LXP Industrial Trust shares are held by 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.

Dividends

Stag Industrial pays an annual dividend of $1.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. LXP Industrial Trust pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Stag Industrial pays out 119.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LXP Industrial Trust pays out 280.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stag Industrial has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years and LXP Industrial Trust has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Stag Industrial and LXP Industrial Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stag Industrial	$845.18 million	8.08	$273.52 million	$1.30	27.23
LXP Industrial Trust	$350.23 million	10.27	$113.16 million	$1.00	60.99

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

Profitability

This table compares Stag Industrial and LXP Industrial Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stag Industrial	28.04%	6.79%	3.43%
LXP Industrial Trust	18.66%	3.37%	1.83%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Stag Industrial and LXP Industrial Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stag Industrial	1	5	3	0	2.22
LXP Industrial Trust	0	6	2	0	2.25

Stag Industrial presently has a consensus target price of $41.11, indicating a potential upside of 16.12%. LXP Industrial Trust has a consensus target price of $57.40, indicating a potential downside of 5.89%. Given Stag Industrial’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Stag Industrial is more favorable than LXP Industrial Trust.

Summary

Stag Industrial beats LXP Industrial Trust on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stag Industrial

STAG Industrial, Inc. is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

About LXP Industrial Trust

LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE: LXP) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on single-tenant industrial real estate investments across the United States. LXP seeks to expand its industrial portfolio through acquisitions, build-to-suit transactions, sale-leaseback transactions, development projects and other transactions.