Contrasting Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR) and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO)

Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR) and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.5% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rexford Industrial Realty and Vornado Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rexford Industrial Realty	$867.49 million	12.68	$238.02 million	$1.09	46.34
Vornado Realty Trust	$1.81 billion	4.09	$105.49 million	$0.15	259.22

Rexford Industrial Realty has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vornado Realty Trust. Rexford Industrial Realty is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vornado Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Rexford Industrial Realty pays an annual dividend of $1.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Vornado Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Rexford Industrial Realty pays out 153.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Vornado 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. Rexford Industrial Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Rexford Industrial Realty and Vornado Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rexford Industrial Realty	30.71%	3.31%	2.30%
Vornado Realty Trust	4.51%	3.21%	0.92%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Rexford Industrial Realty and Vornado Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rexford Industrial Realty	1	4	5	0	2.40
Vornado Realty Trust	3	6	2	0	1.91

Rexford Industrial Realty presently has a consensus price target of $52.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.94%. Vornado Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $30.43, indicating a potential downside of 21.73%. Given Rexford Industrial Realty’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Rexford Industrial Realty is more favorable than Vornado Realty Trust.

Volatility and Risk

Rexford Industrial Realty has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vornado Realty Trust has a beta of 1.65, indicating that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rexford Industrial Realty beats Vornado Realty Trust on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rexford Industrial Realty

Rexford Industrial creates value by investing in, operating and redeveloping industrial properties throughout infill Southern California, the world's fourth largest industrial market and consistently the highest-demand with lowest-supply major market in the nation. The Company's highly differentiated strategy enables internal and external growth opportunities through its proprietary value creation and asset management capabilities. Rexford Industrial's high-quality, irreplaceable portfolio comprises 371 properties with approximately 45.0 million rentable square feet occupied by a stable and diverse tenant base. Structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT) listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "REXR," Rexford Industrial is an S&P MidCap 400 Index member.

About Vornado Realty Trust

Vornado is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) with a portfolio of premier New York City office and retail assets and the developer of the new PENN DISTRICT. While concentrated in New York, Vornado also owns the premier assets in both Chicago and San Francisco. Vornado is a real estate industry leader in sustainability, with over 27 million square feet of LEED-certified buildings and over 23 million square feet at LEED Gold or Platinum.