Analyzing Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) & HG (OTCMKTS:STLY)

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) and HG (OTCMKTS:STLY) are both real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Essential Properties Realty Trust and HG”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essential Properties Realty Trust	$561.22 million	11.79	$253.01 million	$1.29	23.72
HG	$14.74 million	1.20	$1.53 million	$0.54	6.48

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essential Properties Realty Trust	43.51%	6.34%	3.81%
HG	14.64%	5.56%	4.34%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Essential Properties Realty Trust and HG, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essential Properties Realty Trust	0	0	11	1	3.08
HG	0	0	0	0	0.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $36.20, suggesting a potential upside of 18.33%. Given Essential Properties Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Essential Properties Realty Trust is more favorable than HG.

Volatility & Risk

Essential Properties Realty Trust has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HG has a beta of 0.12, suggesting that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.0% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.7% of HG shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 75.7% of HG shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Essential Properties Realty Trust beats HG on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis. As of December 31, 2021, it had a portfolio of 1, 451 properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

About HG

HG Holdings, Inc. engages in the title insurance and real estate businesses in the United States. It operates through four segments: Title Insurance Services, Reinsurance, Management Services, and Real Estate. The company provides title insurance, closing and/or escrow, and similar or related services in connection with residential and commercial real estate transactions. It also owns and operates a portfolio of single-tenant properties leased for the occupancy by U.S. government tenant agencies and sub-agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veterans affairs, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Transportation. In addition, the company provides excess-of-loss reinsurance coverage related to catastrophic weather risk in Texas; and management advisory services, such as formation, operational, and restructuring services. The company was formerly known as Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. and changed its name to HG Holdings, Inc. in March 2018. HG Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.