Comparing Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) & W. P. Carey (NYSE:WPC)

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

Profitability

This table compares W. P. Carey and Essential Properties Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
W. P. Carey	29.11%	5.37%	2.61%
Essential Properties Realty Trust	45.15%	6.12%	3.76%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares W. P. Carey and Essential Properties Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
W. P. Carey	$1.60 billion	8.65	$460.84 million	$1.94	32.63
Essential Properties Realty Trust	$475.46 million	13.50	$203.00 million	$1.15	28.27

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for W. P. Carey and Essential Properties Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
W. P. Carey	1	7	3	0	2.18
Essential Properties Realty Trust	0	3	11	0	2.79

W. P. Carey presently has a consensus price target of $100.40, suggesting a potential upside of 58.61%. Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $34.91, suggesting a potential upside of 7.38%. Given W. P. Carey’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe W. P. Carey is more favorable than Essential Properties Realty Trust.

Volatility and Risk

W. P. Carey has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

W. P. Carey pays an annual dividend of $3.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. W. P. Carey pays out 183.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essential Properties Realty Trust pays out 104.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. W. P. Carey has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Essential Properties Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.7% of W. P. Carey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.0% of Essential Properties Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of W. P. Carey shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Essential Properties Realty Trust 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.

Summary

Essential Properties Realty Trust beats W. P. Carey on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About W. P. Carey

W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,424 net lease properties covering approximately 173 million square feet and a portfolio of 89 self-storage operating properties as of December 31, 2023. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, the company remains focused on investing primarily in single-tenant, industrial, warehouse and retail properties located in the U.S. and Northern and Western Europe, under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations.

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.