W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC – Get Free Report) and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Profitability
This table compares W. P. Carey and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| W. P. Carey | 29.11% | 5.37% | 2.61% |
| Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. | 9.48% | 2.40% | 1.27% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares W. P. Carey and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| W. P. Carey | $1.58 billion | 8.57 | $460.84 million | $2.09 | 29.65 |
| Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. | $661.39 million | 6.61 | $62.69 million | $0.50 | 69.84 |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
73.7% of W. P. Carey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of W. P. Carey shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
W. P. Carey pays an annual dividend of $3.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. W. P. Carey pays out 168.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. pays out 246.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. W. P. Carey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for W. P. Carey and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc., as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| W. P. Carey | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.22 |
| Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
W. P. Carey currently has a consensus price target of $63.75, suggesting a potential upside of 2.87%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a consensus price target of $39.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.68%. Given Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. is more favorable than W. P. Carey.
Volatility & Risk
W. P. Carey has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
W. P. Carey beats Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About W. P. Carey
W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, the company remains focused on investing primarily in single-tenant, industrial, warehouse and retail properties located in the U.S. and Northern and Western Europe, under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations.
About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.
Phillips Edison & Co., Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of shopping centers. It also offers an investment management business providing property management and advisory services. Its portfolio consists of well-occupied, grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers having a mix of national, regional, and local retailers offering necessity-based goods and services. The company was founded by Jeffrey S. Edison and Michael C. Phillips in 1991 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.
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