Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) & Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) Critical Comparison

Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) and Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Brandywine Realty Trust and Easterly Government Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brandywine Realty Trust	3	3	0	0	1.50
Easterly Government Properties	1	3	1	0	2.00

Brandywine Realty Trust currently has a consensus price target of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 11.29%. Easterly Government Properties has a consensus price target of $23.89, suggesting a potential downside of 5.50%. Given Brandywine Realty Trust’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Brandywine Realty Trust is more favorable than Easterly Government Properties.

Profitability

This table compares Brandywine Realty Trust and Easterly Government Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brandywine Realty Trust	-28.62%	-18.52%	-4.07%
Easterly Government Properties	3.22%	0.82%	0.33%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.3% of Brandywine Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.5% of Easterly Government Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Brandywine Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Easterly Government Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Brandywine Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.2%. Easterly Government Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. Brandywine Realty Trust pays out -39.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Easterly Government Properties pays out 750.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Brandywine Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Brandywine Realty Trust has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Easterly Government Properties has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Brandywine Realty Trust and Easterly Government Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brandywine Realty Trust	$484.45 million	1.13	-$178.25 million	($0.82)	-3.84
Easterly Government Properties	$336.10 million	3.49	$13.00 million	$0.24	105.33

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

Summary

Easterly Government Properties beats Brandywine Realty Trust on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brandywine Realty Trust

Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) is one of the largest, publicly traded, full-service, integrated real estate companies in the United States with a core focus in the Philadelphia and Austin markets. Organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), we own, develop, lease and manage an urban, town center and transit-oriented portfolio comprising 160 properties and 22.6 million square feet as of September 30, 2023 which excludes assets held for sale. Our purpose is to shape, connect and inspire the world around us through our expertise, the relationships we foster, the communities in which we live and work, and the history we build together.

About Easterly Government Properties

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE: DEA) is based in Washington, D.C., and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly’s experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S. Government agencies for properties leased to such agencies either directly or through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).