Reviewing First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) and Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Industrial Realty Trust	46.12%	12.60%	6.19%
Rexford Industrial Realty	-47.15%	-5.72%	-3.89%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for First Industrial Realty Trust and Rexford Industrial Realty, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Industrial Realty Trust	0	8	7	0	2.47
Rexford Industrial Realty	3	5	7	0	2.27

First Industrial Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $66.07, indicating a potential upside of 21.47%. Rexford Industrial Realty has a consensus target price of $40.87, indicating a potential upside of 7.08%. Given First Industrial Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Industrial Realty Trust is more favorable than Rexford Industrial Realty.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.8% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.5% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Industrial Realty Trust	$727.08 million	9.92	$247.44 million	$2.69	20.22
Rexford Industrial Realty	$1.00 billion	8.07	$212.03 million	($2.11)	-18.09

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

Risk and Volatility

First Industrial Realty Trust has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rexford Industrial Realty has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

First Industrial Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Rexford Industrial Realty pays an annual dividend of $1.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. First Industrial Realty Trust pays out 74.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rexford Industrial Realty pays out -82.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. First Industrial Realty Trust has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Rexford Industrial Realty has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Rexford Industrial Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

First Industrial Realty Trust beats Rexford Industrial Realty on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Rexford Industrial Realty

Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, which engages in owning and operating industrial properties in infill markets. The company was founded by Richard S. Ziman on January 18, 2013 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.