Reviewing Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) and Office Properties Income Trust (NASDAQ:OPI)

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) and Office Properties Income Trust (NASDAQ:OPI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Dividends

Independence Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Office Properties Income Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 250.0%. Independence Realty Trust pays out 680.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Office Properties Income Trust pays out -0.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Independence Realty Trust has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Office Properties Income Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Independence Realty Trust and Office Properties Income Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Independence Realty Trust	3.42%	0.62%	0.37%
Office Properties Income Trust	-62.99%	-25.56%	-8.02%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.3% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of Office Properties Income Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Office Properties Income Trust shares are held 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.

Volatility and Risk

Independence Realty Trust has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Office Properties Income Trust has a beta of 1.71, meaning that its share price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Independence Realty Trust and Office Properties Income Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Independence Realty Trust	0	3	6	0	2.67
Office Properties Income Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00

Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $21.56, suggesting a potential upside of 30.96%. Given Independence Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Independence Realty Trust is more favorable than Office Properties Income Trust.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Independence Realty Trust and Office Properties Income Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Independence Realty Trust	$640.03 million	6.15	$39.29 million	$0.10	164.65
Office Properties Income Trust	$466.97 million	0.00	-$136.11 million	($4.90)	0.00

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

Summary

Independence Realty Trust beats Office Properties Income Trust on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL. IRT’s investment strategy is focused on gaining scale near major employment centers within key amenity rich submarkets that offer good school districts and high-quality retail. IRT aims to provide stockholders attractive risk-adjusted returns through diligent portfolio management, strong operational performance, and a consistent return on capital through distributions and capital appreciation.

About Office Properties Income Trust

Office Properties Income Trust is a real estate investment trust. It owns, operates, and leases office buildings to single tenants and multi-tenant buildings. The company was founded on February 17, 2009 and is headquartered in Newton, MA.