Critical Survey: InvenTrust Properties (NYSE:IVT) & Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW)

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) and InvenTrust Properties (NYSE:IVT) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Dividends

Highwoods Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. InvenTrust Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Highwoods Properties pays out 131.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. InvenTrust Properties pays out 70.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. InvenTrust Properties has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Highwoods Properties and InvenTrust Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Highwoods Properties	0	6	2	0	2.25
InvenTrust Properties	0	1	5	1	3.00

Highwoods Properties currently has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential downside of 9.46%. InvenTrust Properties has a consensus price target of $35.14, suggesting a potential downside of 0.65%. Given InvenTrust Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe InvenTrust Properties is more favorable than Highwoods Properties.

Risk & Volatility

Highwoods Properties has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, InvenTrust Properties has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.3% of Highwoods Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.7% of InvenTrust Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Highwoods Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of InvenTrust Properties shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Highwoods Properties and InvenTrust Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Highwoods Properties	20.74%	7.06%	2.72%
InvenTrust Properties	35.66%	6.10%	3.95%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Highwoods Properties and InvenTrust Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Highwoods Properties	$835.54 million	4.37	$159.61 million	$1.52	21.80
InvenTrust Properties	$299.17 million	9.22	$111.42 million	$1.41	25.09

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

Summary

InvenTrust Properties beats Highwoods Properties on 10 of the 18 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 InvenTrust Properties

InvenTrust Properties Corp. (the “Company,” “IVT,” or “InvenTrust”) is a premier Sun Belt, multi-tenant essential retail REIT that owns, leases, redevelops, acquires and manages grocery-anchored neighborhood and community centers as well as high-quality power centers that often have a grocery component. Management pursues the Company’s business strategy by acquiring retail properties in Sun Belt markets, opportunistically disposing of retail properties, maintaining a flexible capital structure, and enhancing environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and standards. A trusted, local operator bringing real estate expertise to its tenant relationships, IVT has built a strong reputation with market participants across its portfolio. IVT is committed to leadership in ESG practices and has been a Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (“GRESB”) member since 2013.