Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR – Get Free Report) and Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:BOWFF – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.
Volatility & Risk
Equity Residential has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Equity Residential and Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Equity Residential | $3.11 billion | 7.98 | $1.12 billion | $2.50 | 26.52 |
| Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust | $457.06 million | 4.90 | $140.90 million | $0.60 | 78.17 |
Equity Residential has higher revenue and earnings than Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust. Equity Residential is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Equity Residential pays an annual dividend of $2.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Equity Residential pays out 112.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 220.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equity Residential has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Equity Residential is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Equity Residential and Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Equity Residential | 0 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 2.48 |
| Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Equity Residential currently has a consensus target price of $70.11, suggesting a potential upside of 5.76%. Given Equity Residential’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Equity Residential is more favorable than Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust.
Profitability
This table compares Equity Residential and Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Equity Residential | 30.63% | 8.57% | 4.58% |
| Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust | 8.97% | 1.17% | 0.65% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
92.7% of Equity Residential shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Equity Residential shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.0% of Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Equity Residential beats Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Equity Residential
Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Austin.
About Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust
Boardwalk REIT strives to be Canada’s friendliest community provider and is a leading owner/operator of multi-family rental communities. Providing homes in more than 200 communities, with over 34,000 residential suites totaling over 29 million net rentable square feet, Boardwalk has a proven long-term track record of building better communities, where love always lives. Our three-tiered and distinct brands: Boardwalk Living, Boardwalk Communities, and Boardwalk Lifestyle, cater to a large diverse demographic and has evolved to capture the life cycle of all Resident Members. Boardwalk’s disciplined approach to capital allocation, acquisition, development, purposeful re-positioning, and management of apartment communities allows the Trust to provide its brand of community across Canada creating exceptional Resident Member experiences. Differentiated by its peak performance culture, Boardwalk is committed to delivering exceptional service, product quality and experience to our Resident Members who reward us with high retention and market leading operating results, which in turn, lead to higher free cash flow and investment returns, stable monthly distributions, and value creation for all our stakeholders. Boardwalk REIT’s Trust Units are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol BEI.UN.
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