Comparing BrightSpire Capital (NYSE:BRSP) and Plymouth Industrial REIT (NYSE:PLYM)

BrightSpire Capital (NYSE:BRSP) and Plymouth Industrial REIT (NYSE:PLYM) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares BrightSpire Capital and Plymouth Industrial REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BrightSpire Capital	-69.35%	9.44%	2.79%
Plymouth Industrial REIT	0.46%	0.20%	0.06%

Risk and Volatility

BrightSpire Capital has a beta of 1.87, indicating that its share price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Plymouth Industrial REIT has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

56.6% of BrightSpire Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Plymouth Industrial REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of BrightSpire Capital shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Plymouth Industrial REIT shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for BrightSpire Capital and Plymouth Industrial REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BrightSpire Capital	1	3	1	0	2.00
Plymouth Industrial REIT	1	4	4	0	2.33

BrightSpire Capital currently has a consensus price target of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.89%. Plymouth Industrial REIT has a consensus price target of $24.89, indicating a potential upside of 32.60%. Given Plymouth Industrial REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Plymouth Industrial REIT is more favorable than BrightSpire Capital.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BrightSpire Capital and Plymouth Industrial REIT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BrightSpire Capital	$298.70 million	2.77	-$15.55 million	($1.02)	-6.25
Plymouth Industrial REIT	$199.85 million	4.26	$13.66 million	$0.02	938.50

Plymouth Industrial REIT has lower revenue, but higher earnings than BrightSpire Capital. BrightSpire Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Plymouth Industrial REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

BrightSpire Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.0%. Plymouth Industrial REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. BrightSpire Capital pays out -62.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Plymouth Industrial REIT pays out 4,800.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. BrightSpire Capital is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Plymouth Industrial REIT beats BrightSpire Capital on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BrightSpire Capital

BrightSpire Capital, Inc. operates as a commercial real estate (CRE) credit real estate investment trust in the United States and Europe. The company operates through Senior and Mezzanine Loans and Preferred Equity; Net Leased and Other Real Estate; and Corporate and Other segments. It focuses on originating, acquiring, financing, and managing a diversified portfolio of CRE debt investments consisting of first mortgage loans, senior loans, debt securities, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity investments, as well as net leased properties. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was formerly known as Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. and changed its name to BrightSpire Capital, Inc. in June 2021. BrightSpire Capital, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Plymouth Industrial REIT

Plymouth Industrial REIT, Inc. (NYSE: PLYM) is a full service, vertically integrated real estate investment company focused on the acquisition, ownership and management of single and multi-tenant industrial properties. Our mission is to provide tenants with cost effective space that is functional, flexible and safe.