Analyzing Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) and Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR)

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) and Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Dividends

Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Healthcare Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Whitestone REIT pays out 83.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Healthcare Realty Trust pays out -83.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Whitestone REIT has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Healthcare Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Whitestone REIT shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Healthcare Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Whitestone REIT and Healthcare Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Whitestone REIT	$154.28 million	4.01	$36.89 million	$0.65	18.67
Healthcare Realty Trust	$1.27 billion	5.14	-$654.48 million	($1.15)	-16.13

Whitestone REIT has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Healthcare Realty Trust. Healthcare Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Whitestone REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Healthcare Realty Trust has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Whitestone REIT and Healthcare Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Whitestone REIT	21.70%	7.76%	2.98%
Healthcare Realty Trust	-32.95%	-7.70%	-3.78%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Whitestone REIT and Healthcare Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Whitestone REIT	0	1	2	0	2.67
Healthcare Realty Trust	2	5	3	0	2.10

Whitestone REIT presently has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.61%. Healthcare Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $18.75, suggesting a potential upside of 1.08%. Given Whitestone REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Whitestone REIT is more favorable than Healthcare Realty Trust.

Summary

Whitestone REIT beats Healthcare Realty Trust on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc. provides real estate investment services. It owns, leases, manages, acquires, finances, develops, and redevelops income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services throughout the United States of America. The company was founded by David R. Emery in 1992 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.