Critical Comparison: Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) & Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM)

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) and Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Host Hotels & Resorts and Piedmont Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Host Hotels & Resorts	$6.11 billion	2.22	$765.00 million	$1.10	17.92
Piedmont Realty Trust	$564.99 million	1.50	-$83.62 million	($0.68)	-9.96

Host Hotels & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Piedmont Realty Trust. Piedmont Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Host Hotels & Resorts, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Host Hotels & Resorts and Piedmont Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Host Hotels & Resorts	12.51%	11.54%	5.89%
Piedmont Realty Trust	-14.80%	-5.44%	-2.09%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.5% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Host Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Host Hotels & Resorts and Piedmont Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Host Hotels & Resorts	0	6	9	1	2.69
Piedmont Realty Trust	1	1	1	0	2.00

Host Hotels & Resorts currently has a consensus target price of $20.50, suggesting a potential upside of 4.01%. Piedmont Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.86%. Given Piedmont Realty Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Piedmont Realty Trust is more favorable than Host Hotels & Resorts.

Summary

Host Hotels & Resorts beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.

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.