BXP (NYSE:BXP) versus Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT) Critical Review

Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT) and BXP (NYSE:BXP) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ashford Hospitality Trust and BXP”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ashford Hospitality Trust	$1.10 billion	0.02	-$60.30 million	($35.47)	-0.08
BXP	$3.48 billion	2.63	$276.80 million	$1.74	33.15

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

Risk & Volatility

Ashford Hospitality Trust has a beta of 1.69, suggesting that its share price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BXP has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

41.0% of Ashford Hospitality Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.7% of BXP shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Ashford Hospitality Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of BXP shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ashford Hospitality Trust and BXP’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ashford Hospitality Trust	-16.28%	N/A	-5.90%
BXP	7.95%	3.59%	1.07%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Ashford Hospitality Trust and BXP, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ashford Hospitality Trust	1	1	0	0	1.50
BXP	1	10	10	0	2.43

BXP has a consensus price target of $75.45, indicating a potential upside of 30.79%. Given BXP’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe BXP is more favorable than Ashford Hospitality Trust.

Summary

BXP beats Ashford Hospitality Trust on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ashford Hospitality Trust

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (Ashford Trust), is a real estate investment trust (REIT). While our portfolio currently consists of upscale hotels and upper upscale full-service hotels, our investment strategy is predominantly focused on investing in upper upscale full-service hotels in the United States that have revenue per available room (RevPAR) generally less than twice the U.S. national average, and in all methods including direct real estate, equity, and debt. We currently anticipate future investments will predominantly be in upper upscale hotels. We own our lodging investments and conduct our business through Ashford Hospitality Limited Partnership (Ashford Trust OP), our operating partnership. Ashford OP General Partner LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ashford Trust, serves as the sole general partner of our operating partnership.

About BXP

Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Including properties owned by joint ventures, BXP's portfolio totals 53.3 million square feet and 188 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. BXP's properties include 167 office properties, 14 retail properties (including two retail properties under construction/redevelopment), six residential properties (including one residential property under construction) and one hotel. BXP is well-known for its inhouse building management expertise and responsiveness to clients' needs. BXP holds a superior track record of developing premium Central Business District (CBD) office buildings, successful mixed-use complexes, suburban office centers and build-to-suit projects for a diverse array of creditworthy clients. BXP actively works to promote its growth and operations in a sustainable and responsible manner. BXP has earned a twelfth consecutive GRESB Green Star recognition and the highest GRESB 5-star Rating. BXP, an S&P 500 company, was founded in 1970 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and Edward H. Linde and became a public company in 1997.