Critical Review: Ventas (NYSE:VTR) & Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI)

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) and Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Ventas has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Douglas Emmett has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ventas and Douglas Emmett”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ventas	$4.92 billion	6.00	$81.15 million	$0.19	355.63
Douglas Emmett	$986.48 million	2.73	$23.52 million	$0.13	123.62

Ventas has higher revenue and earnings than Douglas Emmett. Douglas Emmett is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ventas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Ventas pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Douglas Emmett pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Ventas pays out 1,010.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Douglas Emmett pays out 584.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Douglas Emmett is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ventas and Douglas Emmett, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ventas	0	3	7	2	2.92
Douglas Emmett	0	5	4	0	2.44

Ventas currently has a consensus price target of $72.90, indicating a potential upside of 7.89%. Douglas Emmett has a consensus price target of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.11%. Given Douglas Emmett’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Douglas Emmett is more favorable than Ventas.

Profitability

This table compares Ventas and Douglas Emmett’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ventas	1.65%	0.82%	0.32%
Douglas Emmett	2.38%	0.63%	0.25%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Ventas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.4% of Douglas Emmett shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Ventas shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.7% of Douglas Emmett shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ventas beats Douglas Emmett on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments. Ventas leverages its unmatched operational expertise, data-driven insights from its Ventas Operational InsightsTM platform, extensive relationships and strong financial position to achieve its goal of delivering outsized performance across approximately 1,400 properties. The Ventas portfolio is composed of senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, research centers and healthcare facilities in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company benefits from a seasoned team of talented professionals who share a commitment to excellence, integrity and a common purpose of helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives.

About Douglas Emmett

Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), and one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in the premier coastal submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Douglas Emmett focuses on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods that possess significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities.