Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) vs. Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG) Head to Head Survey

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) and Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Dividends

Digital Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $4.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Seritage Growth Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 27.2%. Digital Realty Trust pays out 126.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Seritage Growth Properties pays out -70.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Seritage Growth Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Digital Realty Trust and Seritage Growth Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Digital Realty Trust	23.67%	6.41%	2.98%
Seritage Growth Properties	-404.37%	-20.13%	-12.10%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Digital Realty Trust and Seritage Growth Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Digital Realty Trust	0	8	16	3	2.81
Seritage Growth Properties	1	0	0	0	1.00

Digital Realty Trust currently has a consensus price target of $193.22, suggesting a potential upside of 18.06%. Given Digital Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Digital Realty Trust is more favorable than Seritage Growth Properties.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.7% of Digital Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.9% of Seritage Growth Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Digital Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Seritage Growth Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Digital Realty Trust and Seritage Growth Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Digital Realty Trust	$5.55 billion	10.12	$615.19 million	$3.87	42.29
Seritage Growth Properties	$18.42 million	11.22	-$153.54 million	($1.42)	-2.58

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

Risk and Volatility

Digital Realty Trust has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seritage Growth Properties has a beta of 2.38, suggesting that its stock price is 138% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Digital Realty Trust beats Seritage Growth Properties on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Digital Realty Trust

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. It serves the following industries: artificial intelligence (AI), networks, cloud, digital media, mobile, financial services, healthcare, and gaming. The company was founded on March 9, 2004, and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.

About Seritage Growth Properties

Seritage Growth Properties operates as a real estate investment trust. The firm engages in the acquisition, ownership, development, redevelopment, management, and leasing of retail properties throughout the United States. Its property portfolio includes mall, shopping centers and freestanding locations. The company was founded on June 3, 2015 and is headquartered in New York, NY.