Analyzing Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) and Farmland Partners (NYSE:FPI)

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) and Farmland Partners (NYSE:FPI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Essential Properties Realty Trust and Farmland Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essential Properties Realty Trust	0	2	13	0	2.87
Farmland Partners	0	0	1	0	3.00

Essential Properties Realty Trust presently has a consensus price target of $33.91, indicating a potential upside of 5.95%. Given Essential Properties Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Essential Properties Realty Trust is more favorable than Farmland Partners.

Dividends

Essential Properties Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Farmland Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays out 102.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Farmland Partners pays out 85.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Volatility and Risk

Essential Properties Realty Trust has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Farmland Partners has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.0% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.0% of Farmland Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of Farmland Partners shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Essential Properties Realty Trust and Farmland Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essential Properties Realty Trust	46.00%	6.20%	3.82%
Farmland Partners	31.68%	3.53%	1.80%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Essential Properties Realty Trust and Farmland Partners”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essential Properties Realty Trust	$427.64 million	13.12	$190.71 million	$1.15	27.83
Farmland Partners	$57.47 million	9.89	$30.91 million	$0.28	42.13

Essential Properties Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Farmland Partners. Essential Properties Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Farmland Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Essential Properties Realty Trust beats Farmland Partners on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis. As of December 31, 2021, it had a portfolio of 1, 451 properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

About Farmland Partners

Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire high-quality North American farmland and makes loans to farmers secured by farm real estate. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owns and/or manages approximately 171,100 acres in 16 states, including Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. In addition, the Company owns land and buildings for four agriculture equipment dealerships in Ohio leased to Ag Pro under the John Deere brand. The Company has approximately 26 crop types and over 100 tenants. The Company elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2014.