Reviewing Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) and First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR)

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) and First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Vornado Realty Trust and First Industrial Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vornado Realty Trust	3.94%	1.60%	0.44%
First Industrial Realty Trust	42.94%	10.64%	5.51%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vornado Realty Trust and First Industrial Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vornado Realty Trust	$1.81 billion	4.29	$70.39 million	$0.52	77.87
First Industrial Realty Trust	$684.44 million	10.01	$287.55 million	$2.02	25.62

First Industrial Realty Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Vornado Realty Trust. First Industrial Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vornado Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Vornado Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. First Industrial Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Vornado Realty Trust pays out 142.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Industrial Realty Trust pays out 88.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Industrial Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. First Industrial Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Vornado Realty Trust has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Industrial Realty Trust has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.0% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.4% of Vornado Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Vornado Realty Trust and First Industrial Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vornado Realty Trust	2	6	3	0	2.09
First Industrial Realty Trust	0	6	7	0	2.54

Vornado Realty Trust currently has a consensus target price of $38.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.16%. First Industrial Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $56.58, suggesting a potential upside of 9.32%. Given First Industrial Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Industrial Realty Trust is more favorable than Vornado Realty Trust.

Summary

First Industrial Realty Trust beats Vornado Realty Trust on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vornado Realty Trust

Vornado Realty Trust is a fully – integrated equity real estate investment trust.

About First Industrial Realty Trust

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR) is a leading U.S.-only owner, operator, developer and acquirer of logistics properties. Through our fully integrated operating and investing platform, we provide high quality facilities and industry-leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional firms that are essential for their supply chains. Our portfolio and new investments are concentrated in 15 target MSAs with an emphasis on supply-constrained, coastally oriented markets. In total, we own and have under development approximately 68.5 million square feet of industrial space as of December 31, 2023.