Head to Head Comparison: Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC) and Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI)

Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC) and Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Kilroy Realty pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Douglas Emmett pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Kilroy Realty pays out 152.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Douglas Emmett pays out -506.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Douglas Emmett is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Kilroy Realty and Douglas Emmett’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kilroy Realty	15.47%	3.04%	1.56%
Douglas Emmett	-2.27%	-0.66%	-0.24%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kilroy Realty and Douglas Emmett”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kilroy Realty	$1.11 billion	3.80	$276.12 million	$1.42	25.61
Douglas Emmett	$1.01 billion	1.94	$16.27 million	($0.15)	-77.82

Kilroy Realty has higher revenue and earnings than Douglas Emmett. Douglas Emmett is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kilroy Realty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Kilroy Realty and Douglas Emmett, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kilroy Realty	2	9	5	0	2.19
Douglas Emmett	1	7	1	0	2.00

Kilroy Realty presently has a consensus target price of $39.13, suggesting a potential upside of 7.63%. Douglas Emmett has a consensus target price of $13.71, suggesting a potential upside of 17.49%. Given Douglas Emmett’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Douglas Emmett is more favorable than Kilroy Realty.

Risk & Volatility

Kilroy Realty has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Douglas Emmett has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Kilroy Realty shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.4% of Douglas Emmett shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Kilroy Realty shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.0% of Douglas Emmett shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Kilroy Realty beats Douglas Emmett on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kilroy Realty

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC, the company, Kilroy) is a leading U.S. landlord and developer, with operations in San Diego, Greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Seattle and Austin. The company has earned global recognition for sustainability, building operations, innovation and design. As a pioneer and innovator in the creation of a more sustainable real estate industry, the company's approach to modern business environments helps drive creativity and productivity for some of the world's leading technology, entertainment, life science and business services companies. The company is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index with more than seven decades of experience developing, acquiring and managing office, life science and mixed-use projects. As of December 31, 2023, Kilroy's stabilized portfolio totaled approximately 17.0 million square feet of primarily office and life science space that was 85.0% occupied and 86.4% leased. The company also had approximately 1,000 residential units in Hollywood and San Diego, which had a quarterly average occupancy of 92.5%. In addition, the company had two in-process life science redevelopment projects totaling approximately 100,000 square feet with total estimated redevelopment costs of $80.0 million and one approximately 875,000 square foot in-process development project with a total estimated investment of $1.0 billion.

About Douglas Emmett

Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), and one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in the premier coastal submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Douglas Emmett focuses on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods that possess significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities.