Analyzing Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) & Peakstone Realty Trust (NYSE:PKST)

Peakstone Realty Trust (NYSE:PKST) and Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE:ESRT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

39.0% of Peakstone Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.1% of Empire State Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Peakstone Realty Trust 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Peakstone Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Empire State Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Peakstone Realty Trust pays out -4.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Empire State Realty Trust pays out 53.8% 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. Peakstone Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peakstone Realty Trust	-189.03%	-39.44%	-16.55%
Empire State Realty Trust	6.06%	2.59%	1.11%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Peakstone Realty Trust and Empire State Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peakstone Realty Trust	$105.98 million	7.34	-$307.71 million	($8.39)	-2.50
Empire State Realty Trust	$768.27 million	1.22	$47.60 million	$0.26	20.98

Empire State Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Peakstone Realty Trust. Peakstone Realty Trust 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.

Risk and Volatility

Peakstone Realty Trust has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Empire State Realty Trust has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Peakstone Realty Trust and Empire State Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peakstone Realty Trust	1	3	0	0	1.75
Empire State Realty Trust	2	1	0	0	1.33

Peakstone Realty Trust currently has a consensus target price of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.31%. Empire State Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $6.35, indicating a potential upside of 16.39%. Given Empire State Realty Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Empire State Realty Trust is more favorable than Peakstone Realty Trust.

Summary

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

About Peakstone Realty Trust

Peakstone Realty Trust (NYSE: PKST) is an internally managed, real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, newer-vintage portfolio of predominantly single-tenant industrial and office properties. These assets are generally leased to creditworthy tenants under long-term net lease agreements with contractual rent escalations. As of March 31, 2023, Peakstone's wholly-owned portfolio consists of 19 million square feet across 24 states in primarily high-growth, strategic coastal and sunbelt markets.

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.