Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CDPYF – Get Free Report) and Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS – Get Free Report) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Essex Property Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Essex Property Trust | 24.31% | 7.10% | 3.29% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
23.8% of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Essex Property Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Essex Property Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Essex Property Trust’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust | N/A | N/A | N/A | $2.94 | 11.72 |
| Essex Property Trust | $1.67 billion | 9.41 | $405.83 million | $6.31 | 38.80 |
Essex Property Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust. Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essex Property Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Essex Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $9.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 39.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essex Property Trust pays out 155.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essex Property Trust has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Essex Property Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and Essex Property Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Essex Property Trust | 3 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 2.17 |
Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust presently has a consensus target price of $59.25, suggesting a potential upside of 72.14%. Essex Property Trust has a consensus target price of $243.74, suggesting a potential downside of 0.44%. Given Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust is more favorable than Essex Property Trust.
Summary
Essex Property Trust beats Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
CAPREIT is Canada’s largest publicly traded provider of quality rental housing. As at December 31, 2023, CAPREIT owns approximately 64,300 residential apartment suites, townhomes and manufactured home community sites that are well-located across Canada and the Netherlands, with approximately $16.5 billion of investment properties in Canada and Europe.
About Essex Property Trust
Essex Property Trust, Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.
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