Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) and LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE:LXP) Critical Analysis

Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) and LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE:LXP) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.8% of Kite Realty Group Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of LXP Industrial Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Kite Realty Group Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of LXP Industrial Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Kite Realty Group Trust and LXP Industrial Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kite Realty Group Trust	0	5	2	1	2.50
LXP Industrial Trust	0	2	2	0	2.50

Kite Realty Group Trust presently has a consensus target price of $27.88, suggesting a potential upside of 25.17%. LXP Industrial Trust has a consensus target price of $11.33, suggesting a potential upside of 29.60%. Given LXP Industrial Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LXP Industrial Trust is more favorable than Kite Realty Group Trust.

Volatility & Risk

Kite Realty Group Trust has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LXP Industrial Trust has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Kite Realty Group Trust and LXP Industrial Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kite Realty Group Trust	0.48%	0.12%	0.06%
LXP Industrial Trust	12.40%	2.15%	1.13%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kite Realty Group Trust and LXP Industrial Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kite Realty Group Trust	$841.84 million	5.81	$4.07 million	$0.02	1,113.50
LXP Industrial Trust	$358.46 million	7.21	$44.53 million	$0.13	67.27

LXP Industrial Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Kite Realty Group Trust. LXP Industrial Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kite Realty Group Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Kite Realty Group Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. LXP Industrial Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Kite Realty Group Trust pays out 5,400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LXP Industrial Trust pays out 415.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LXP Industrial Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

LXP Industrial Trust beats Kite Realty Group Trust on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kite Realty Group Trust

Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Indianapolis, IN that is one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets. The Company’s primarily grocery-anchored portfolio is located in high-growth Sun Belt and select strategic gateway markets. The combination of necessity-based grocery-anchored neighborhood and community centers, along with vibrant mixed-use assets makes the KRG portfolio an ideal mix for both retailers and consumers. Publicly listed since 2004, KRG has nearly 60 years of experience in developing, constructing and operating real estate. Using operational, investment, development, and redevelopment expertise, KRG continuously optimizes its portfolio to maximize value and return to shareholders. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned interests in 180 U.S. open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets, comprising approximately 28.1 million square feet of gross leasable space.

About LXP Industrial Trust

LXP Industrial Trust (NYSE: LXP) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on single-tenant industrial real estate investments across the United States. LXP seeks to expand its industrial portfolio through acquisitions, build-to-suit transactions, sale-leaseback transactions, development projects and other transactions.