Financial Survey: National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) and Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT)

National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) and Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Health Investors and Chatham Lodging Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Health Investors	$348.66 million	10.32	$137.99 million	$3.13	24.21
Chatham Lodging Trust	$311.22 million	1.05	$4.17 million	$0.03	221.83

National Health Investors has higher revenue and earnings than Chatham Lodging Trust. National Health Investors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chatham Lodging Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares National Health Investors and Chatham Lodging Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Health Investors	40.97%	10.32%	5.41%
Chatham Lodging Trust	3.04%	1.19%	0.76%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.5% of National Health Investors shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.4% of Chatham Lodging Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.3% of National Health Investors shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Chatham Lodging Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

National Health Investors pays an annual dividend of $3.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Chatham Lodging Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. National Health Investors pays out 117.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chatham Lodging Trust pays out 1,200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chatham Lodging Trust has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Chatham Lodging Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

National Health Investors has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chatham Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for National Health Investors and Chatham Lodging Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Health Investors	0	1	4	1	3.00
Chatham Lodging Trust	0	1	2	0	2.67

National Health Investors currently has a consensus target price of $84.83, suggesting a potential upside of 11.93%. Chatham Lodging Trust has a consensus target price of $10.75, suggesting a potential upside of 61.53%. Given Chatham Lodging Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Chatham Lodging Trust is more favorable than National Health Investors.

Summary

National Health Investors beats Chatham Lodging Trust on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Health Investors

Incorporated in 1991, National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE:NHI) is a real estate investment trust specializing in sale, leasebacks, joint-ventures, senior housing operating partnerships, and mortgage and mezzanine financing of need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical investments. NHI's portfolio consists of independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, entrance-fee retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, and specialty hospitals.

About Chatham Lodging Trust

Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused primarily on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels. The company owns 39 hotels totaling 5,915 rooms/suites in 16 states and the District of Columbia.