Contrasting Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) and SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG)

Uniti Group (NASDAQ:UNIT) and SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Uniti Group and SL Green Realty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Uniti Group	97.46%	-2.52%	0.59%
SL Green Realty	-9.66%	-2.44%	-0.86%

Dividends

Uniti Group pays an annual dividend of $0.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. SL Green Realty pays an annual dividend of $3.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.8%. Uniti Group pays out 8.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SL Green Realty pays out -191.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SL Green Realty has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. SL Green Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.5% of Uniti Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of SL Green Realty shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Uniti Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of SL Green Realty shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Uniti Group and SL Green Realty”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Uniti Group	$1.61 billion	0.77	$93.41 million	$5.11	1.63
SL Green Realty	$1.00 billion	2.81	-$88.28 million	($1.61)	-24.57

Uniti Group has higher revenue and earnings than SL Green Realty. SL Green Realty is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Uniti Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Uniti Group has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SL Green Realty has a beta of 1.63, suggesting that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Uniti Group and SL Green Realty, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Uniti Group	0	5	1	1	2.43
SL Green Realty	3	9	7	0	2.21

Uniti Group presently has a consensus price target of $7.06, indicating a potential downside of 15.25%. SL Green Realty has a consensus price target of $54.30, indicating a potential upside of 37.26%. Given SL Green Realty’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe SL Green Realty is more favorable than Uniti Group.

Summary

SL Green Realty beats Uniti Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Uniti Group

Uniti Group, Inc. is a real estate investment trust company, which engages in the acquisition, construction, and leasing of properties. It operates through the following business segments: Uniti Leasing, Uniti Fiber, and Corporate. The Uniti Leasing segment involves mission-critical communications assets on exclusive or shared-tenant basis, and dark fiber network. The Uniti Fiber segment includes the operation of infrastructure solutions, cell site backhauls, and dark fiber. The Corporate segment consists of office and shared service functions. The company was founded in February 2014 and is headquartered in Little Rock, AR.

About SL Green Realty

3SL Green Realty Corp., Manhattan’s largest office landlord, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2022, SL Green held interests in 64 buildings totaling 34.4 million square feet. This included ownership interests in 26.3 million square feet of Manhattan buildings and 7.2 million square feet securing debt and preferred equity investments.