Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI – Get Free Report) and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.
Dividends
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.8%. Medical Properties Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays out -108.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Medical Properties Trust pays out -7.6% 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. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
54.4% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.8% of Medical Properties Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Medical Properties 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.
Risk and Volatility
Profitability
This table compares Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Medical Properties Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance | -35.84% | 9.11% | 2.01% |
| Medical Properties Trust | N/A | -38.83% | -15.05% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Medical Properties Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance | $344.59 million | 3.71 | $58.13 million | ($0.92) | -10.05 |
| Medical Properties Trust | $871.80 million | 3.38 | -$556.48 million | ($4.22) | -1.16 |
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Medical Properties Trust. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance 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.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Medical Properties Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 |
| Medical Properties Trust | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus target price of $9.88, suggesting a potential upside of 6.76%. Medical Properties Trust has a consensus target price of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.02%. Given Medical Properties Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Medical Properties Trust is more favorable than Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance.
Summary
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance beats Medical Properties Trust on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. It is qualified as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income taxes, if the company distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is based in New York, New York.
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.
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