Reviewing LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC) & NNN REIT (NYSE:NNN)

LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC) and NNN REIT (NYSE:NNN) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LTC Properties and NNN REIT”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LTC Properties	$262.85 million	7.49	$117.97 million	$2.44	16.29
NNN REIT	$926.21 million	9.18	$389.78 million	$2.07	21.59

NNN REIT has higher revenue and earnings than LTC Properties. LTC Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NNN REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.3% of LTC Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of NNN REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of LTC Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of NNN REIT shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for LTC Properties and NNN REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LTC Properties	0	4	2	1	2.57
NNN REIT	2	6	1	0	1.89

LTC Properties currently has a consensus target price of $39.60, suggesting a potential downside of 0.37%. NNN REIT has a consensus target price of $44.83, suggesting a potential upside of 0.30%. Given NNN REIT’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NNN REIT is more favorable than LTC Properties.

Dividends

LTC Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. NNN REIT pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. LTC Properties pays out 93.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NNN REIT pays out 115.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. NNN REIT has increased its dividend for 35 consecutive years. LTC Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares LTC Properties and NNN REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LTC Properties	44.82%	10.95%	6.14%
NNN REIT	42.08%	8.89%	4.21%

Risk and Volatility

LTC Properties has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NNN REIT has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

LTC Properties beats NNN REIT on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LTC Properties

LTC Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in managing seniors housing and health care properties. It operates through the Texas, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Remaining States geographic segments. The company was founded by Andre C. Dimitriadis on May 12, 1992 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, CA.

About NNN REIT

NNN REIT invests primarily in high-quality retail properties subject generally to long-term, net leases. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned 3,532 properties in 49 states with a gross leasable area of approximately 36.0 million square feet and a weighted average remaining lease term of 10.1 years. NNN is one of only three publicly traded REITs to have increased annual dividends for 34 or more consecutive years.