Medalist Diversified REIT (NASDAQ:MDRR) and National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) Financial Survey

Medalist Diversified REIT (NASDAQ:MDRR) and National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Medalist Diversified REIT has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Health Investors has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

17.4% of Medalist Diversified REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.5% of National Health Investors shares are held by institutional investors. 56.1% of Medalist Diversified REIT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of National Health Investors 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Medalist Diversified REIT and National Health Investors”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medalist Diversified REIT	$9.74 million	1.68	-$4.57 million	($0.22)	-54.55
National Health Investors	$335.18 million	9.94	$135.65 million	$3.12	23.36

National Health Investors has higher revenue and earnings than Medalist Diversified REIT. Medalist Diversified REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Health Investors, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Medalist Diversified REIT and National Health Investors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medalist Diversified REIT	-2.18%	-18.35%	-3.87%
National Health Investors	38.53%	10.11%	5.12%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Medalist Diversified REIT and National Health Investors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medalist Diversified REIT	0	0	0	0	0.00
National Health Investors	0	2	2	0	2.50

National Health Investors has a consensus price target of $85.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.30%. Given National Health Investors’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe National Health Investors is more favorable than Medalist Diversified REIT.

Dividends

Medalist Diversified REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. National Health Investors pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Medalist Diversified REIT pays out -122.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Health Investors pays out 115.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

National Health Investors beats Medalist Diversified REIT on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Medalist Diversified REIT

Medalist Diversified REIT Inc. is a Virginia-based real estate investment trust that specializes in acquiring, owning and managing commercial real estate in the Southeast region of the U.S. The Company's strategy is to focus on commercial real estate which is expected to provide an attractive balance of risk and returns. Medalist utilizes a rigorous, consistent and replicable process for sourcing and conducting due diligence of acquisitions.

About National Health Investors

Incorporated in 1991, National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE:NHI) is a real estate investment trust specializing in sale, leasebacks, joint-ventures, senior housing operating partnerships, and mortgage and mezzanine financing of need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical investments. NHI's portfolio consists of independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, entrance-fee retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, and specialty hospitals.