Comparing Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) and Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR)

Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR) and Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.4% of Xenia Hotels & Resorts shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of Stag Industrial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Xenia Hotels & Resorts shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Stag Industrial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Xenia Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Stag Industrial pays an annual dividend of $1.49 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Xenia Hotels & Resorts pays out 100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stag Industrial pays out 114.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Xenia Hotels & Resorts has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Stag Industrial has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Stag Industrial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Xenia Hotels & Resorts and Stag Industrial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xenia Hotels & Resorts	1	2	3	0	2.33
Stag Industrial	0	6	3	0	2.33

Xenia Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus target price of $13.40, indicating a potential downside of 10.40%. Stag Industrial has a consensus target price of $38.89, indicating a potential upside of 2.57%. Given Stag Industrial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Stag Industrial is more favorable than Xenia Hotels & Resorts.

Profitability

This table compares Xenia Hotels & Resorts and Stag Industrial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xenia Hotels & Resorts	5.24%	4.50%	1.97%
Stag Industrial	29.24%	6.84%	3.52%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Xenia Hotels & Resorts and Stag Industrial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xenia Hotels & Resorts	$1.07 billion	1.32	$16.14 million	$0.56	26.71
Stag Industrial	$767.38 million	9.23	$189.22 million	$1.30	29.17

Stag Industrial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Xenia Hotels & Resorts. Xenia Hotels & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stag Industrial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Xenia Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stag Industrial has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Stag Industrial beats Xenia Hotels & Resorts on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xenia Hotels & Resorts

Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of investment in luxury and upper upscale hotels and resorts. It also owns a diversified portfolio of lodging properties operated by Marriott, Kimpton, Hyatt, Aston, Fairmong, and Loews. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.

About Stag Industrial

STAG Industrial, Inc. is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.