Analyzing Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) and Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME)

Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, profitability and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Elme Communities and Medical Properties Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elme Communities	$227.91 million	6.82	-$52.98 million	($0.15)	-117.73
Medical Properties Trust	$722.07 million	4.08	-$556.48 million	($4.22)	-1.16

Elme Communities has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Medical Properties Trust. Elme Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Medical Properties Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Elme Communities has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medical Properties Trust has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Elme Communities pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Elme Communities pays out -480.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Medical Properties Trust pays out -7.6% 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.9% of Elme Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Elme Communities shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Elme Communities and Medical Properties Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elme Communities	0	3	1	0	2.25
Medical Properties Trust	1	8	1	0	2.00

Elme Communities currently has a consensus price target of $17.33, indicating a potential downside of 1.85%. Medical Properties Trust has a consensus price target of $5.38, indicating a potential upside of 9.47%. Given Medical Properties Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Medical Properties Trust is more favorable than Elme Communities.

Profitability

This table compares Elme Communities and Medical Properties Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elme Communities	-5.51%	-1.17%	-0.70%
Medical Properties Trust	N/A	-22.26%	-9.06%

Summary

Elme Communities beats Medical Properties Trust on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elme Communities

Elme Communities is committed to elevating what home can be for middle-income renters by providing a higher level of quality, service, and experience. The Company is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns and operates approximately 9,400 apartment homes in the Washington, DC metro and the Atlanta metro regions, and owns approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space. Focused on providing quality, affordable homes to a deep, solid, and underserved base of mid-market demand, Elme Communities is building long-term value for shareholders.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023. Since the end of the third quarter, the Company has sold four facilities and now owns approximately 43,000 licensed beds in nine countries across three continents. MPT's financing model facilitates acquisitions and recapitalizations and allows operators of hospitals to unlock the value of their real estate assets to fund facility improvements, technology upgrades and other investments in operations.