Head to Head Comparison: Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) versus Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW)

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) and Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Highwoods Properties and Empire State Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Highwoods Properties	0	6	2	0	2.25
Empire State Realty Trust	2	1	0	0	1.33

Highwoods Properties currently has a consensus price target of $27.67, suggesting a potential upside of 15.83%. Empire State Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $6.35, suggesting a potential upside of 13.70%. Given Highwoods Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Highwoods Properties is more favorable than Empire State Realty Trust.

Profitability

This table compares Highwoods Properties and Empire State Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Highwoods Properties	20.10%	6.86%	2.64%
Empire State Realty Trust	6.06%	2.59%	1.11%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.3% of Highwoods Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.1% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Highwoods Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Highwoods Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. Empire State Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Highwoods Properties pays out 137.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Empire State Realty Trust pays out 53.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Highwoods Properties has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Empire State Realty Trust has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Highwoods Properties and Empire State 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
Highwoods Properties	$806.11 million	3.27	$159.61 million	$1.46	16.36
Empire State Realty Trust	$768.27 million	1.24	$47.60 million	$0.26	21.48

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

Summary

Highwoods Properties beats Empire State Realty Trust on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc., headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa. Highwoods is in the work-placemaking business. We believe that by creating environments and experiences where the best and brightest can achieve together what they cannot apart, we can deliver greater value to our customers, their teammates and, in turn, our stakeholders.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of modernized, amenitized, and well-located office, retail, and multifamily assets. The company is the recognized leader in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. ESRT’s flagship Empire State Building – the “World’s Most Famous Building” – includes its Observatory, Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best the #1 attraction in the US for two consecutive years. As of September 30, 2023, ESRT’s portfolio is comprised of approximately 8.6 million rentable square feet of office space, 0.7 million rentable square feet of retail space and 727 residential units across three multifamily properties.