Comparing Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) & TPG RE Finance Trust (NYSE:TRTX)

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) and TPG RE Finance Trust (NYSE:TRTX) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Essex Property Trust and TPG RE Finance Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Essex Property Trust	1	12	7	0	2.30
TPG RE Finance Trust	1	0	5	0	2.67

Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus price target of $305.53, suggesting a potential upside of 10.09%. TPG RE Finance Trust has a consensus price target of $8.92, suggesting a potential upside of 7.37%. Given Essex Property Trust’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Essex Property Trust is more favorable than TPG RE Finance Trust.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.5% of Essex Property Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of TPG RE Finance Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Essex Property Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of TPG RE Finance Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Essex Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $9.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. TPG RE Finance Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.6%. Essex Property Trust pays out 114.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. TPG RE Finance Trust pays out 139.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Essex Property Trust has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Essex Property Trust and TPG RE Finance Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Essex Property Trust	31.55%	9.72%	4.36%
TPG RE Finance Trust	19.65%	-7.50%	-2.19%

Volatility and Risk

Essex Property Trust has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TPG RE Finance Trust has a beta of 2.17, meaning that its stock price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Essex Property Trust and TPG RE Finance Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Essex Property Trust	$1.67 billion	10.68	$405.83 million	$8.56	32.42
TPG RE Finance Trust	$390.25 million	1.72	-$116.63 million	$0.69	12.04

Essex Property Trust has higher revenue and earnings than TPG RE Finance Trust. TPG RE Finance Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essex Property Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Essex Property Trust beats TPG RE Finance Trust on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.

About TPG RE Finance Trust

TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc., a commercial real estate finance company, originates, acquires, and manages commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate-related debt instruments in the United States. It invests in commercial mortgage loans; subordinate mortgage interests, mezzanine loans, secured real estate securities, note financing, preferred equity, and miscellaneous debt instruments; and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations and commercial mortgage-backed securities secured by properties primarily in the multifamily, life science, mixed-use, hospitality, self storage, industrial, and retail real estate sectors. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. TPG RE Finance Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is based in New York, New York.