Head-To-Head Analysis: COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) vs. Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC)

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) and Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

COPT Defense Properties has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kilroy Realty has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares COPT Defense Properties and Kilroy Realty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
COPT Defense Properties	21.17%	10.80%	3.73%
Kilroy Realty	2.63%	0.52%	0.27%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Kilroy Realty shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of COPT Defense Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Kilroy Realty shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for COPT Defense Properties and Kilroy Realty, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
COPT Defense Properties	0	3	6	0	2.67
Kilroy Realty	2	9	4	0	2.13

COPT Defense Properties currently has a consensus price target of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.73%. Kilroy Realty has a consensus price target of $38.54, indicating a potential upside of 5.58%. Given COPT Defense Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe COPT Defense Properties is more favorable than Kilroy Realty.

Dividends

COPT Defense Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Kilroy Realty pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. COPT Defense Properties pays out 86.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Kilroy Realty pays out 900.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares COPT Defense Properties and Kilroy Realty”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
COPT Defense Properties	$763.92 million	4.96	$152.32 million	$1.48	22.58
Kilroy Realty	$1.11 billion	3.82	$276.12 million	$0.24	152.08

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

Summary

COPT Defense Properties beats Kilroy Realty on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.

About Kilroy Realty

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC, the company, Kilroy) is a leading U.S. landlord and developer, with operations in San Diego, Greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Seattle and Austin. The company has earned global recognition for sustainability, building operations, innovation and design. As a pioneer and innovator in the creation of a more sustainable real estate industry, the company's approach to modern business environments helps drive creativity and productivity for some of the world's leading technology, entertainment, life science and business services companies. The company is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index with more than seven decades of experience developing, acquiring and managing office, life science and mixed-use projects. As of December 31, 2023, Kilroy's stabilized portfolio totaled approximately 17.0 million square feet of primarily office and life science space that was 85.0% occupied and 86.4% leased. The company also had approximately 1,000 residential units in Hollywood and San Diego, which had a quarterly average occupancy of 92.5%. In addition, the company had two in-process life science redevelopment projects totaling approximately 100,000 square feet with total estimated redevelopment costs of $80.0 million and one approximately 875,000 square foot in-process development project with a total estimated investment of $1.0 billion.