Analyzing Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) and BXP (NYSE:BXP)

BXP (NYSE:BXP) and Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.7% of BXP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.1% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of BXP shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

BXP has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Empire State Realty Trust has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares BXP and Empire State Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BXP	14.99%	6.89%	2.08%
Empire State Realty Trust	0.93%	0.40%	0.17%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares BXP and Empire State Realty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BXP	$3.48 billion	2.88	$276.80 million	$1.86	33.76
Empire State Realty Trust	$768.27 million	1.12	$47.60 million	$0.07	71.29

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for BXP and Empire State Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BXP	0	8	9	0	2.53
Empire State Realty Trust	2	1	0	0	1.33

BXP presently has a consensus target price of $72.56, suggesting a potential upside of 15.56%. Empire State Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.20%. Given BXP’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe BXP is more favorable than Empire State Realty Trust.

Dividends

BXP pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Empire State Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. BXP pays out 150.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Empire State Realty Trust pays out 200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. BXP is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

BXP beats Empire State Realty Trust on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years. As of September 30, 2023, ESRT’s portfolio is comprised of approximately 8.6 million rentable square feet of office space, 0.7 million rentable square feet of retail space and 727 residential units across three multifamily properties.