Reviewing Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) & Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW)

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) and Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Medical Properties Trust and Elme Communities”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medical Properties Trust	$871.80 million	2.97	-$556.48 million	($4.22)	-1.02
Elme Communities	$239.52 million	5.99	-$52.98 million	($0.15)	-108.63

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

Dividends

Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.4%. Elme Communities pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Medical Properties Trust pays out -7.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Elme Communities pays out -480.0% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Medical Properties Trust and Elme Communities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medical Properties Trust	N/A	-38.83%	-15.05%
Elme Communities	-5.51%	-1.17%	-0.70%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Medical Properties Trust and Elme Communities, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medical Properties Trust	1	7	1	0	2.00
Elme Communities	0	3	1	0	2.25

Medical Properties Trust presently has a consensus price target of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 27.61%. Elme Communities has a consensus price target of $17.33, suggesting a potential upside of 6.37%. Given Medical Properties Trust’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Medical Properties Trust is more favorable than Elme Communities.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Elme Communities shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Elme Communities shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Medical Properties Trust has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Elme Communities has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Elme Communities beats Medical Properties Trust on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023. Since the end of the third quarter, the Company has sold four facilities and now owns approximately 43,000 licensed beds in nine countries across three continents. MPT's financing model facilitates acquisitions and recapitalizations and allows operators of hospitals to unlock the value of their real estate assets to fund facility improvements, technology upgrades and other investments in operations.

About Elme Communities

Elme Communities is committed to elevating what home can be for middle-income renters by providing a higher level of quality, service, and experience. The Company is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns and operates approximately 9,400 apartment homes in the Washington, DC metro and the Atlanta metro regions, and owns approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space. Focused on providing quality, affordable homes to a deep, solid, and underserved base of mid-market demand, Elme Communities is building long-term value for shareholders.