Head to Head Analysis: Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) & Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (NASDAQ:ILPT)

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (NASDAQ:ILPT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Whitestone REIT and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Whitestone REIT	$154.28 million	4.03	$36.89 million	$0.60	20.33
Industrial Logistics Properties Trust	$442.32 million	0.67	-$95.67 million	($1.43)	-3.14

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

Dividends

Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Industrial Logistics Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Whitestone REIT pays out 90.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Industrial Logistics Properties Trust pays out -2.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Whitestone REIT has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Whitestone REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Whitestone REIT and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Whitestone REIT	20.15%	7.23%	2.77%
Industrial Logistics Properties Trust	-21.22%	-9.11%	-1.73%

Risk and Volatility

Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Industrial Logistics Properties Trust has a beta of 2.22, indicating that its stock price is 122% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Whitestone REIT and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Whitestone REIT	0	0	2	0	3.00
Industrial Logistics Properties Trust	0	1	0	1	3.00

Whitestone REIT presently has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.95%. Industrial Logistics Properties Trust has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.36%. Given Whitestone REIT’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Whitestone REIT is more favorable than Industrial Logistics Properties Trust.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.1% of Industrial Logistics Properties Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Industrial Logistics Properties Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Whitestone REIT beats Industrial Logistics Properties Trust on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.

About Industrial Logistics Properties Trust

Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (Nasdaq: ILPT) is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on owning and leasing high quality distribution and logistics properties. As of December 31, 2023, ILPT's portfolio consisted of 411 properties containing approximately 60 million rentable square feet located in 39 states. Approximately 77% of ILPT's annualized rental revenues as of December 31, 2023 are derived from investment grade tenants, tenants that are subsidiaries of investment grade rated entities or Hawaii land leases. ILPT is managed by The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), a leading U.S. alternative asset management company with over $41 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023 and more than 35 years of institutional experience in buying, selling, financing and operating commercial real estate. ILPT is headquartered in Newton, MA.