Head to Head Analysis: Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLRP) vs. Realty Income (NYSE:O)

Realty Income (NYSE:O) and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (NASDAQ:WHLRP) are both real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Realty Income and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Realty Income	20.93%	3.12%	1.72%
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Realty Income and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Realty Income	$5.75 billion	10.28	$1.06 billion	$1.37	45.58
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	$99.10 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Realty Income has higher revenue and earnings than Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.8% of Realty Income shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Realty Income shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Realty Income and Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Realty Income	1	7	8	1	2.53
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	0	0.00

Realty Income currently has a consensus target price of $67.42, suggesting a potential upside of 7.96%. Given Realty Income’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Realty Income is more favorable than Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust.

Summary

Realty Income beats Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Realty Income

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company, is an S&P 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index. We invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. The company is structured as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 15,450 real estate properties (including properties acquired in the Spirit merger in January 2024) primarily owned under long-term net lease agreements with commercial clients. To date, the company has declared 644 consecutive monthly dividends on its shares of common stock throughout its 55-year operating history and increased the dividend 123 times since Realty Income’s public listing in 1994 (NYSE: O).

About Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. is a fully integrated, self-managed commercial real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and operating income-producing retail properties with a primary focus on grocery-anchored centers.