Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) vs. Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) Critical Analysis

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) and Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.0% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vornado Realty Trust	3.71%	1.37%	0.43%
Piedmont Realty Trust	-15.18%	-5.98%	-2.18%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vornado Realty Trust and Piedmont Realty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vornado Realty Trust	$1.81 billion	3.64	$904.96 million	$0.02	1,765.45
Piedmont Realty Trust	$564.99 million	2.09	-$83.62 million	($0.71)	-13.44

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

Risk and Volatility

Vornado Realty Trust has a beta of 1.58, meaning that its share price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Vornado Realty Trust and Piedmont Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vornado Realty Trust	4	5	4	0	2.00
Piedmont Realty Trust	1	2	2	1	2.50

Vornado Realty Trust currently has a consensus target price of $38.91, indicating a potential upside of 10.20%. Piedmont Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $10.75, indicating a potential upside of 12.66%. Given Piedmont Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Piedmont Realty Trust is more favorable than Vornado Realty Trust.

Summary

Vornado Realty Trust beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vornado Realty Trust

Vornado Realty Trust is a fully – integrated equity real estate investment trust.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. The Company was designated an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was the only office REIT headquartered in the Southeast to receive those designations. Approximately 85% of the Company's square footage is Energy Star certified and nearly 70% is LEED certified. Piedmont is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.