Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) versus BXP (NYSE:BXP) Critical Review

BXP (NYSE:BXP) and Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) are both real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares BXP and Piedmont Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BXP	8.44%	3.88%	1.16%
Piedmont Realty Trust	-14.18%	-5.39%	-2.00%

Risk & Volatility

BXP has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for BXP and Piedmont Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BXP	0	9	11	0	2.55
Piedmont Realty Trust	1	0	1	0	2.00

BXP currently has a consensus price target of $74.58, suggesting a potential upside of 7.14%. Piedmont Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.19%. Given Piedmont Realty Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Piedmont Realty Trust is more favorable than BXP.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.7% of BXP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of BXP shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BXP and Piedmont Realty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BXP	$3.48 billion	3.19	$276.80 million	$1.86	37.42
Piedmont Realty Trust	$564.99 million	2.10	-$83.62 million	($0.65)	-14.56

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

Summary

BXP beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BXP

Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Including properties owned by joint ventures, BXP's portfolio totals 53.3 million square feet and 188 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. BXP's properties include 167 office properties, 14 retail properties (including two retail properties under construction/redevelopment), six residential properties (including one residential property under construction) and one hotel. BXP is well-known for its inhouse building management expertise and responsiveness to clients' needs. BXP holds a superior track record of developing premium Central Business District (CBD) office buildings, successful mixed-use complexes, suburban office centers and build-to-suit projects for a diverse array of creditworthy clients. BXP actively works to promote its growth and operations in a sustainable and responsible manner. BXP has earned a twelfth consecutive GRESB Green Star recognition and the highest GRESB 5-star Rating. BXP, an S&P 500 company, was founded in 1970 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and Edward H. Linde and became a public company in 1997.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. The Company was designated an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was the only office REIT headquartered in the Southeast to receive those designations. Approximately 85% of the Company's square footage is Energy Star certified and nearly 70% is LEED certified. Piedmont is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.