Safehold (NYSE:SAFE – Get Free Report) and EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR – Get Free Report) are both real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.
Risk and Volatility
Safehold has a beta of 1.78, meaning that its share price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EPR Properties has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Safehold pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. EPR Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. Safehold pays out 43.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. EPR Properties pays out 119.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Safehold has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and EPR Properties has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Safehold and EPR Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Safehold | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
| EPR Properties | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2.62 |
Safehold presently has a consensus target price of $14.50, suggesting a potential upside of 28.79%. EPR Properties has a consensus target price of $65.65, suggesting a potential upside of 17.39%. Given Safehold’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Safehold is more favorable than EPR Properties.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Safehold and EPR Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Safehold | $419.53 million | 1.90 | $114.47 million | $1.62 | 6.95 |
| EPR Properties | $718.36 million | 5.96 | $274.94 million | $3.11 | 17.98 |
EPR Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Safehold. Safehold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than EPR Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
70.4% of Safehold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.7% of EPR Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Safehold shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of EPR Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Safehold and EPR Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Safehold | 27.70% | 4.76% | 1.62% |
| EPR Properties | 35.45% | 11.34% | 4.58% |
Summary
EPR Properties beats Safehold on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Safehold
Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE) is revolutionizing real estate ownership by providing a new and better way for owners to unlock the value of the land beneath their buildings. Having created the modern ground lease industry in 2017, Safehold continues to help owners of high quality multifamily, office, industrial, hospitality, student housing, life science and mixed-use properties generate higher returns with less risk. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT), seeks to deliver safe, growing income and long-term capital appreciation to its shareholders.
About EPR Properties
EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money. We have total assets of approximately $5.7 billion (after accumulated depreciation of approximately $1.4 billion) across 44 states. We adhere to rigorous underwriting and investing criteria centered on key industry, property and tenant level cash flow standards. We believe our focused approach provides a competitive advantage and the potential for stable and attractive returns.
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