Analyzing First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) and Mapletree Logistics Trust (OTCMKTS:MAPGF)

Mapletree Logistics Trust (OTCMKTS:MAPGF) and First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Mapletree Logistics Trust and First Industrial Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mapletree Logistics Trust	0	0	1	0	3.00
First Industrial Realty Trust	0	7	7	1	2.60

First Industrial Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $67.07, indicating a potential upside of 6.56%. Given First Industrial Realty Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Industrial Realty Trust is more favorable than Mapletree Logistics Trust.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

16.9% of Mapletree Logistics Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mapletree Logistics Trust and First Industrial Realty Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mapletree Logistics Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.12	7.72
First Industrial Realty Trust	$727.08 million	11.48	$247.44 million	$2.74	22.97

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

Profitability

This table compares Mapletree Logistics Trust and First Industrial Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mapletree Logistics Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A
First Industrial Realty Trust	47.97%	12.99%	6.41%

Dividends

Mapletree Logistics Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. First Industrial Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Mapletree Logistics Trust pays out 39.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Industrial Realty Trust pays out 73.0% 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. First Industrial Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Mapletree Logistics Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

First Industrial Realty Trust beats Mapletree Logistics Trust on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mapletree Logistics Trust

MLT, the first Asia-focused logistics REIT in Singapore, was listed on the SGX-ST Main Board on 28 July 2005. MLT's principal strategy is to invest in a diversified portfolio of income-producing logistics real estate and real estate-related assets. As at 31 December 2023, it has a portfolio of 187 properties in Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam with assets under management of S$13.3 billion. MLT is managed by Mapletree Logistics Trust Management Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd.

About First Industrial Realty Trust

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR) is a leading U.S.-only owner, operator, developer and acquirer of logistics properties. Through our fully integrated operating and investing platform, we provide high quality facilities and industry-leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional firms that are essential for their supply chains. Our portfolio and new investments are concentrated in 15 target MSAs with an emphasis on supply-constrained, coastally oriented markets. In total, we own and have under development approximately 68.5 million square feet of industrial space as of December 31, 2023.