Contrasting Orion Office REIT (NYSE:ONL) and Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC)

Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQCGet Free Report) and Orion Office REIT (NYSE:ONLGet Free Report) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Equity Commonwealth and Orion Office REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Equity Commonwealth 0 0 0 0 0.00
Orion Office REIT 1 0 1 0 2.00

Orion Office REIT has a consensus price target of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 22.81%. Given Orion Office REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Orion Office REIT is more favorable than Equity Commonwealth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.0% of Equity Commonwealth shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Orion Office REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Equity Commonwealth shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Orion Office REIT shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Equity Commonwealth has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orion Office REIT has a beta of 1.57, indicating that its stock price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Equity Commonwealth and Orion Office REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio
Equity Commonwealth $58.43 million 2.90 $91.16 million $0.39 4.05
Orion Office REIT $147.65 million 1.10 -$139.31 million ($1.69) -1.69

Equity Commonwealth has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Orion Office REIT. Orion Office REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equity Commonwealth, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Commonwealth and Orion Office REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Equity Commonwealth 82.00% 2.09% 1.96%
Orion Office REIT -65.66% -14.85% -7.95%

Summary

Equity Commonwealth beats Orion Office REIT on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equity Commonwealth

(Get Free Report)

Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) is a Chicago based, internally managed and self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) with commercial office properties in the United States. EQC's portfolio is comprised of four properties totaling 1.5 million square feet.

About Orion Office REIT

(Get Free Report)

Orion Office REIT specializes in the ownership, acquisition and management of a diversified portfolio of mission-critical and corporate headquarters office buildings in high-quality suburban markets across the U.S. The portfolio is leased primarily on a single-tenant net lease basis to creditworthy tenants. The company's team of experienced industry leaders employs a proven, cycle-tested investment evaluation framework which serves as the lens through which capital allocation decisions are made for the current portfolio and future acquisitions.

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