Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM – Get Free Report) and Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA – Get Free Report) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.
Risk and Volatility
Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Easterly Government Properties has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Piedmont Realty Trust and Easterly Government Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Easterly Government Properties | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.14 |
Dividends
Piedmont Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Easterly Government Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.4%. Piedmont Realty Trust pays out -76.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Easterly Government Properties pays out 857.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Piedmont Realty Trust has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.5% of Easterly Government Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Easterly Government Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Piedmont Realty Trust and Easterly Government Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | $569.43 million | 2.11 | -$83.62 million | ($0.65) | -14.76 |
| Easterly Government Properties | $336.10 million | 3.44 | $13.00 million | $0.21 | 116.20 |
Easterly Government Properties has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Piedmont Realty Trust. Piedmont 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.
Profitability
This table compares Piedmont Realty Trust and Easterly Government Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | -14.18% | -5.39% | -2.00% |
| Easterly Government Properties | 2.86% | 0.75% | 0.30% |
Summary
Easterly Government Properties beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
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).
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