Comparing EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) and First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR)

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) and EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) are both real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for First Industrial Realty Trust and EastGroup Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Industrial Realty Trust	0	8	7	0	2.47
EastGroup Properties	0	5	12	0	2.71

First Industrial Realty Trust presently has a consensus price target of $64.93, suggesting a potential upside of 20.71%. EastGroup Properties has a consensus price target of $219.94, suggesting a potential upside of 13.45%. Given First Industrial Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Industrial Realty Trust is more favorable than EastGroup Properties.

Profitability

This table compares First Industrial Realty Trust and EastGroup Properties’ 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%
EastGroup Properties	41.05%	8.90%	5.69%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares First Industrial Realty Trust and EastGroup Properties”s 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	9.81	$247.44 million	$2.69	20.00
EastGroup Properties	$721.34 million	14.45	$257.40 million	$5.90	32.86

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

Dividends

First Industrial Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. EastGroup Properties pays an annual dividend of $7.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Industrial Realty Trust pays out 74.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. EastGroup Properties pays out 118.6% 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 increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and EastGroup Properties has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. First Industrial Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

First Industrial Realty Trust has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EastGroup Properties has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.8% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of EastGroup Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of EastGroup Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Industrial Realty Trust beats EastGroup Properties on 11 of the 17 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 EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 20,000 to 100,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. The Company's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 59 million square feet.