Financial Contrast: Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) versus Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO)

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Gaming and Leisure Properties and Vornado Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gaming and Leisure Properties	50.05%	16.98%	6.44%
Vornado Realty Trust	5.82%	3.22%	0.94%

Dividends

Gaming and Leisure Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.2%. Vornado Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays out 112.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Vornado Realty Trust pays out 521.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Gaming and Leisure Properties has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Gaming and Leisure Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Gaming and Leisure Properties and Vornado Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gaming and Leisure Properties	0	5	6	0	2.55
Vornado Realty Trust	5	5	0	0	1.50

Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus price target of $52.09, suggesting a potential upside of 22.68%. Vornado Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $24.80, suggesting a potential downside of 5.56%. Given Gaming and Leisure Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Gaming and Leisure Properties is more favorable than Vornado Realty Trust.

Risk and Volatility

Gaming and Leisure Properties has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vornado Realty Trust has a beta of 1.57, suggesting that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.4% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Gaming and Leisure Properties and Vornado Realty Trust’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gaming and Leisure Properties	$1.44 billion	8.00	$734.28 million	$2.71	15.67
Vornado Realty Trust	$1.81 billion	2.76	$105.49 million	$0.23	114.17

Gaming and Leisure Properties has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vornado Realty Trust. Gaming and Leisure Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vornado Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Gaming and Leisure Properties beats Vornado Realty Trust on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties.

About Vornado Realty Trust

Vornado is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) with a portfolio of premier New York City office and retail assets and the developer of the new PENN DISTRICT. While concentrated in New York, Vornado also owns the premier assets in both Chicago and San Francisco. Vornado is a real estate industry leader in sustainability, with over 27 million square feet of LEED-certified buildings and over 23 million square feet at LEED Gold or Platinum.