Reviewing Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI)

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) and Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

54.4% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.4% of Brixmor Property Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Brixmor Property Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Brixmor Property Group”s gross 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	3.64	$58.13 million	($0.92)	-9.87
Brixmor Property Group	$1.25 billion	6.97	$305.09 million	$1.08	26.61

Brixmor Property Group has higher revenue and earnings than Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brixmor Property Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Brixmor Property Group’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%
Brixmor Property Group	25.81%	11.48%	3.81%

Dividends

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.0%. Brixmor Property Group pays an annual dividend of $1.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays out -108.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brixmor Property Group pays out 100.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and Brixmor Property Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance	1	4	0	0	1.80
Brixmor Property Group	0	4	8	0	2.67

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance presently has a consensus target price of $9.88, indicating a potential upside of 8.76%. Brixmor Property Group has a consensus target price of $28.88, indicating a potential upside of 0.47%. Given Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Brixmor Property Group.

Risk and Volatility

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brixmor Property Group has a beta of 1.57, indicating that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Brixmor Property Group beats Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance on 12 of the 16 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 Brixmor Property Group

Brixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 362 retail centers comprise approximately 64 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas. The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision to be the center of the communities we serve and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers. Brixmor is a proud real estate partner to over 5,000 retailers including The TJX Companies, The Kroger Co., Publix Super Markets and Ross Stores.