Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT – Get Free Report) and COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP – Get Free Report) are both real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Empire State Realty Trust and COPT Defense Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Empire State Realty Trust | $768.27 million | 1.74 | $47.60 million | $0.07 | 67.36 |
| COPT Defense Properties | $763.92 million | 5.43 | $152.32 million | $1.44 | 25.40 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
67.1% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 15.2% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of COPT Defense Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
Empire State Realty Trust has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, COPT Defense Properties has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Empire State Realty Trust and COPT Defense Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Empire State Realty Trust | 0.93% | 0.40% | 0.17% |
| COPT Defense Properties | 20.94% | 10.48% | 3.64% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Empire State Realty Trust and COPT Defense Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Empire State Realty Trust | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.33 |
| COPT Defense Properties | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2.62 |
Empire State Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.65%. COPT Defense Properties has a consensus target price of $36.25, suggesting a potential downside of 0.91%. Given Empire State Realty Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Empire State Realty Trust is more favorable than COPT Defense Properties.
Dividends
Empire State Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. COPT Defense Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. 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. COPT Defense Properties pays out 88.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. COPT Defense Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary
COPT Defense Properties beats Empire State Realty Trust on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About COPT Defense Properties
COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.
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