Head-To-Head Analysis: Ventas (NYSE:VTR) and CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE)

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) and CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ventas and CareTrust REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ventas	0	3	12	1	2.88
CareTrust REIT	0	1	1	1	3.00

Ventas presently has a consensus price target of $77.93, indicating a potential downside of 2.66%. Given Ventas’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ventas is more favorable than CareTrust REIT.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ventas and CareTrust REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ventas	$5.56 billion	6.77	$81.15 million	$0.52	153.95
CareTrust REIT	$296.29 million	28.19	$125.08 million	$1.34	27.91

CareTrust REIT has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ventas. CareTrust REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ventas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Ventas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of CareTrust REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Ventas shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of CareTrust REIT shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Ventas pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. CareTrust REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Ventas pays out 369.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. CareTrust REIT pays out 100.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ventas has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CareTrust REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Ventas and CareTrust REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ventas	4.28%	2.10%	0.91%
CareTrust REIT	61.00%	7.95%	6.13%

Risk and Volatility

Ventas has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CareTrust REIT has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CareTrust REIT beats Ventas on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments. Ventas leverages its unmatched operational expertise, data-driven insights from its Ventas Operational InsightsTM platform, extensive relationships and strong financial position to achieve its goal of delivering outsized performance across approximately 1,400 properties. The Ventas portfolio is composed of senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, research centers and healthcare facilities in North America and the United Kingdom. The Company benefits from a seasoned team of talented professionals who share a commitment to excellence, integrity and a common purpose of helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives.

About CareTrust REIT

CareTrust REIT, Inc. is a self-administered, publicly-traded real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, acquisition, development and leasing of skilled nursing, seniors housing and other healthcare-related properties. With a nationwide portfolio of long-term net-leased properties, and a growing portfolio of quality operators leasing them, CareTrust REIT is pursuing both external and organic growth opportunities across the United States.