Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC) and Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Critical Contrast

Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC) and Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Kilroy Realty and Independence Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kilroy Realty	0	6	2	0	2.25
Independence Realty Trust	1	0	6	0	2.71

Kilroy Realty currently has a consensus price target of $39.43, indicating a potential upside of 0.66%. Independence Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $19.57, indicating a potential upside of 1.09%. Given Independence Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Independence Realty Trust is more favorable than Kilroy Realty.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Kilroy Realty shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.3% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Kilroy Realty shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by company 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 and Risk

Kilroy Realty has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Independence Realty Trust has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kilroy Realty	17.78%	3.53%	1.73%
Independence Realty Trust	-0.03%	-0.01%	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kilroy Realty and Independence Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kilroy Realty	$1.12 billion	4.13	$212.24 million	$1.67	23.46
Independence Realty Trust	$660.98 million	6.55	-$17.23 million	N/A	N/A

Kilroy Realty has higher revenue and earnings than Independence Realty Trust.

Dividends

Kilroy Realty pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Independence Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Kilroy Realty pays out 129.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Kilroy Realty beats Independence Realty Trust on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kilroy Realty

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC, the company, Kilroy) is a leading U.S. landlord and developer, with operations in San Diego, Greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Seattle and Austin. The company has earned global recognition for sustainability, building operations, innovation and design. As a pioneer and innovator in the creation of a more sustainable real estate industry, the company's approach to modern business environments helps drive creativity and productivity for some of the world's leading technology, entertainment, life science and business services companies. The company is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index with more than seven decades of experience developing, acquiring and managing office, life science and mixed-use projects. As of December 31, 2023, Kilroy's stabilized portfolio totaled approximately 17.0 million square feet of primarily office and life science space that was 85.0% occupied and 86.4% leased. The company also had approximately 1,000 residential units in Hollywood and San Diego, which had a quarterly average occupancy of 92.5%. In addition, the company had two in-process life science redevelopment projects totaling approximately 100,000 square feet with total estimated redevelopment costs of $80.0 million and one approximately 875,000 square foot in-process development project with a total estimated investment of $1.0 billion.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL. IRT’s investment strategy is focused on gaining scale near major employment centers within key amenity rich submarkets that offer good school districts and high-quality retail. IRT aims to provide stockholders attractive risk-adjusted returns through diligent portfolio management, strong operational performance, and a consistent return on capital through distributions and capital appreciation.