Comparing Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT) and Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT)

Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) and Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Four Corners Property Trust has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chatham Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Four Corners Property Trust and Chatham Lodging Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Four Corners Property Trust	0	2	1	1	2.75
Chatham Lodging Trust	0	0	1	0	3.00

Four Corners Property Trust currently has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential downside of 9.34%. Chatham Lodging Trust has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 33.11%. Given Chatham Lodging Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Chatham Lodging Trust is more favorable than Four Corners Property Trust.

Dividends

Four Corners Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Chatham Lodging Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Four Corners Property Trust pays out 129.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chatham Lodging Trust pays out -233.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and Chatham Lodging Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Four Corners Property Trust	$262.91 million	10.42	$95.34 million	$1.07	27.83
Chatham Lodging Trust	$313.94 million	1.40	$2.64 million	($0.12)	-75.13

Four Corners Property Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Chatham Lodging Trust. Chatham Lodging Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Four Corners Property Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and Chatham Lodging Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Four Corners Property Trust	37.01%	7.72%	3.95%
Chatham Lodging Trust	-0.01%	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.7% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.4% of Chatham Lodging Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Chatham Lodging Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Four Corners Property Trust beats Chatham Lodging Trust on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Four Corners Property Trust

FCPT, headquartered in Mill Valley, CA, is a real estate investment trust primarily engaged in the ownership, acquisition and leasing of restaurant and retail properties. The Company seeks to grow its portfolio by acquiring additional real estate to lease, on a net basis, for use in the restaurant and retail industries.

About Chatham Lodging Trust

Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused primarily on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels. The company owns 39 hotels totaling 5,915 rooms/suites in 16 states and the District of Columbia.