Critical Comparison: Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) and Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Safehold (NYSE:SAFE) and Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) are both real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and risk.

Dividends

Safehold pays an annual dividend of $0.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.5%. Safehold pays out 43.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays out 96.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Safehold has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Gaming and Leisure Properties has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Gaming and Leisure Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Safehold has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.4% of Safehold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Safehold shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Safehold and Gaming and Leisure Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Safehold	27.70%	4.76%	1.62%
Gaming and Leisure Properties	59.01%	19.17%	7.29%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Safehold and Gaming and Leisure Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Safehold	$385.55 million	2.28	$114.47 million	$1.62	7.66
Gaming and Leisure Properties	$1.66 billion	6.77	$825.11 million	$3.41	11.30

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Safehold and Gaming and Leisure Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Safehold	2	7	2	0	2.00
Gaming and Leisure Properties	0	7	5	0	2.42

Safehold currently has a consensus price target of $16.43, indicating a potential upside of 32.33%. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus price target of $47.73, indicating a potential upside of 23.91%. Given Safehold’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Safehold is more favorable than Gaming and Leisure Properties.

Summary

Gaming and Leisure Properties beats Safehold on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Safehold

Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE) is revolutionizing real estate ownership by providing a new and better way for owners to unlock the value of the land beneath their buildings. Having created the modern ground lease industry in 2017, Safehold continues to help owners of high quality multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality, student housing, life science and mixed-use properties generate higher returns with less risk. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT), seeks to deliver safe, growing income and long-term capital appreciation to its shareholders.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.