Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) vs. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB) Financial Review

Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Ryman Hospitality Properties has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ryman Hospitality Properties and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ryman Hospitality Properties	9.91%	34.54%	4.39%
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust	-3.11%	-1.83%	-0.87%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.5% of Ryman Hospitality Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Ryman Hospitality Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ryman Hospitality Properties and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ryman Hospitality Properties	$2.58 billion	3.02	$243.43 million	$4.09	30.18
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust	$1.48 billion	1.38	-$65.81 million	($0.69)	-26.13

Ryman Hospitality Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ryman Hospitality Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Ryman Hospitality Properties pays an annual dividend of $4.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Ryman Hospitality Properties pays out 117.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust pays out -5.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ryman Hospitality Properties has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Ryman Hospitality Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Ryman Hospitality Properties and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ryman Hospitality Properties	0	0	12	0	3.00
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust	3	8	3	1	2.13

Ryman Hospitality Properties currently has a consensus target price of $131.27, suggesting a potential upside of 6.35%. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has a consensus target price of $17.37, suggesting a potential downside of 3.69%. Given Ryman Hospitality Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Ryman Hospitality Properties is more favorable than Pebblebrook Hotel Trust.

Summary

Ryman Hospitality Properties beats Pebblebrook Hotel Trust on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ryman Hospitality Properties

Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE: RHP) is a leading lodging and hospitality real estate investment trust that specializes in upscale convention center resorts and entertainment experiences. The Company's holdings include Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center; and Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, five of the top seven largest non-gaming convention center hotels in the United States based on total indoor meeting space. The Company also owns the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa as well as two ancillary hotels adjacent to our Gaylord Hotels properties. The Company's hotel portfolio is managed by Marriott International and includes a combined total of 11,414 rooms as well as more than 3 million square feet of total indoor and outdoor meeting space in top convention and leisure destinations across the country. RHP also owns a 70% controlling ownership interest in Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), which is composed of entities owning a growing collection of iconic and emerging country music brands, including the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, WSM 650 AM, Ole Red, Nashville-area attractions, and Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office and retail complex, including the W Austin Hotel and the ACL Live at the Moody Theater, located in downtown Austin, Texas. RHP operates OEG as its Entertainment segment in a taxable REIT subsidiary, and its results are consolidated in the Company's financial results.

About Pebblebrook Hotel Trust

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust ("REIT") and the largest owner of urban and resort lifestyle hotels and resorts in the United States. The Company owns 47 hotels and resorts, totaling approximately 12,200 guest rooms across 13 urban and resort markets.