Alexander’s (NYSE:ALX) & Net Lease Office Properties (NYSE:NLOP) Head to Head Analysis

Net Lease Office Properties (NYSE:NLOP) and Alexander’s (NYSE:ALX) are both small-cap real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.3% of Net Lease Office Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.0% of Alexander’s shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Net Lease Office Properties shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 26.4% of Alexander’s shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Net Lease Office Properties and Alexander’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Net Lease Office Properties	34.79%	8.98%	6.63%
Alexander’s	81.93%	117.44%	16.60%

Dividends

Net Lease Office Properties pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Alexander’s pays an annual dividend of $18.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.2%. Net Lease Office Properties pays out 27.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alexander’s pays out 48.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Alexander’s has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Alexander’s is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Net Lease Office Properties and Alexander’s, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Net Lease Office Properties	1	0	0	0	1.00
Alexander’s	1	1	1	0	2.00

Alexander’s has a consensus price target of $192.00, indicating a potential downside of 23.01%. Given Alexander’s’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Alexander’s is more favorable than Net Lease Office Properties.

Risk & Volatility

Net Lease Office Properties has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alexander’s has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Net Lease Office Properties and Alexander’s”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Net Lease Office Properties	$52.03 million	2.70	-$145.26 million	$1.23	7.70
Alexander’s	$213.18 million	5.98	$28.22 million	$37.22	6.70

Alexander’s has higher revenue and earnings than Net Lease Office Properties. Alexander’s is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Net Lease Office Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Alexander’s beats Net Lease Office Properties on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Net Lease Office Properties

Net Lease Office Properties (NYSE: NLOP) is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages a portfolio of office properties. The company’s properties are generally leased to commercial tenants under net lease arrangements, in which tenants typically assume responsibility for many property-related expenses, including taxes, insurance and maintenance. NLOP’s portfolio is focused primarily on office buildings in the United States and Europe. Its activities include leasing and managing properties, overseeing tenant relationships and pursuing strategies to enhance the performance of its real estate investments.

About Alexander’s

Alexander’s, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and leases commercial properties, primarily in the New York City area. Its portfolio includes office, retail and mixed-use real estate, with properties in Manhattan and Queens. The company’s properties include 731 Lexington Avenue, a mixed-use office and retail building in Manhattan, and the Rego Center shopping complex in Queens. Alexander’s focuses on leasing space to businesses and retailers rather than operating a department store chain.