Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR) and Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) Head to Head Comparison

Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) and Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.3% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.5% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Independence Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Rexford Industrial Realty shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Independence Realty Trust and Rexford Industrial Realty”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Independence Realty Trust	$660.98 million	7.34	-$17.23 million	$0.27	79.78
Rexford Industrial Realty	$797.83 million	11.16	$238.02 million	$1.23	32.56

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

Profitability

This table compares Independence Realty Trust and Rexford Industrial Realty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Independence Realty Trust	-0.03%	-0.01%	N/A
Rexford Industrial Realty	30.40%	3.35%	2.29%

Dividends

Independence Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Rexford Industrial Realty pays an annual dividend of $1.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Independence Realty Trust pays out 237.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rexford Industrial Realty pays out 135.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rexford Industrial Realty is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Independence Realty Trust has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rexford Industrial Realty has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Independence Realty Trust and Rexford Industrial Realty, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Independence Realty Trust	0	1	6	0	2.86
Rexford Industrial Realty	1	6	3	0	2.20

Independence Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $20.43, suggesting a potential downside of 5.16%. Rexford Industrial Realty has a consensus target price of $51.09, suggesting a potential upside of 27.57%. Given Rexford Industrial Realty’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rexford Industrial Realty is more favorable than Independence Realty Trust.

Summary

Rexford Industrial Realty beats Independence Realty Trust on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Independence Realty Trust

Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates multifamily communities, across non-gateway U.S. markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Nashville, TN, Houston, TX, and Tampa, FL. IRT’s investment strategy is focused on gaining scale near major employment centers within key amenity rich submarkets that offer good school districts and high-quality retail. IRT aims to provide stockholders attractive risk-adjusted returns through diligent portfolio management, strong operational performance, and a consistent return on capital through distributions and capital appreciation.

About Rexford Industrial Realty

Rexford Industrial creates value by investing in, operating and redeveloping industrial properties throughout infill Southern California, the world's fourth largest industrial market and consistently the highest-demand with lowest-supply major market in the nation. The Company's highly differentiated strategy enables internal and external growth opportunities through its proprietary value creation and asset management capabilities. Rexford Industrial's high-quality, irreplaceable portfolio comprises 371 properties with approximately 45.0 million rentable square feet occupied by a stable and diverse tenant base. Structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT) listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "REXR," Rexford Industrial is an S&P MidCap 400 Index member.