Prologis (NYSE:PLD) and Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Critical Comparison

Prologis (NYSE:PLD) and Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.5% of Prologis shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.3% of Independence Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Prologis shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Independence Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Prologis pays an annual dividend of $3.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Independence Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Prologis pays out 112.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Independence Realty Trust pays out -2,132.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Prologis has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Independence Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Prologis and Independence Realty Trust’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Prologis	$8.02 billion	12.70	$3.06 billion	$3.42	32.18
Independence Realty Trust	$660.98 million	6.19	-$17.23 million	($0.03)	-606.13

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Prologis and Independence Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Prologis	0	4	11	1	2.81
Independence Realty Trust	1	0	4	0	2.60

Prologis currently has a consensus price target of $129.76, suggesting a potential upside of 17.91%. Independence Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.54%. Given Prologis’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Prologis is more favorable than Independence Realty Trust.

Profitability

This table compares Prologis and Independence Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Prologis	38.73%	5.49%	3.43%
Independence Realty Trust	-1.26%	-0.23%	-0.13%

Volatility & Risk

Prologis has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independence Realty Trust has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Prologis beats Independence Realty Trust on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Prologis

Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. At March 31, 2024, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 1.2 billion square feet (115 million square meters) in 19 countries. Prologis leases modern logistics facilities to a diverse base of approximately 6,700 customers principally across two major categories: business-to-business and retail/online fulfillment.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL. IRT's investment strategy is focused on gaining scale near major employment centers within key amenity rich submarkets that offer good school districts and high-quality retail. IRT aims to provide stockholders attractive risk-adjusted returns through diligent portfolio management, strong operational performance, and a consistent return on capital through distributions and capital appreciation.