Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM – Get Free Report) and RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.
Risk and Volatility
Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RLJ Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Piedmont Realty Trust and RLJ Lodging Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | -12.44% | -4.51% | -1.75% |
| RLJ Lodging Trust | 2.48% | 1.78% | 0.69% |
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | $570.32 million | 1.82 | -$79.06 million | ($0.57) | -14.63 |
| RLJ Lodging Trust | $1.37 billion | 0.85 | $68.02 million | $0.05 | 154.40 |
RLJ Lodging Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Piedmont Realty Trust. Piedmont Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RLJ Lodging Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Piedmont Realty Trust and RLJ Lodging Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| RLJ Lodging Trust | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.11 |
Piedmont Realty Trust presently has a consensus price target of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.91%. RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus price target of $9.08, indicating a potential upside of 17.66%. Given RLJ Lodging Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe RLJ Lodging Trust is more favorable than Piedmont Realty Trust.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
RLJ Lodging Trust beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Piedmont Realty Trust
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. The Company was designated an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was the only office REIT headquartered in the Southeast to receive those designations. Approximately 85% of the Company's square footage is Energy Star certified and nearly 70% is LEED certified. Piedmont is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
About RLJ Lodging Trust
RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.
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