Comparing RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) & Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.4% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.7% of Boston Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Boston Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

RLJ Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.7, suggesting that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boston Properties has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for RLJ Lodging Trust and Boston Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RLJ Lodging Trust	2	2	3	0	2.14
Boston Properties	0	7	7	0	2.50

RLJ Lodging Trust presently has a consensus price target of $10.92, suggesting a potential upside of 10.08%. Boston Properties has a consensus price target of $82.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.84%. Given Boston Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Boston Properties is more favorable than RLJ Lodging Trust.

Dividends

RLJ Lodging Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. Boston Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. RLJ Lodging Trust pays out 206.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Boston Properties pays out 169.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares RLJ Lodging Trust and Boston Properties”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RLJ Lodging Trust	$1.33 billion	1.15	$76.40 million	$0.29	34.20
Boston Properties	$3.27 billion	3.54	$190.21 million	$2.31	31.74

Boston Properties has higher revenue and earnings than RLJ Lodging Trust. Boston Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RLJ Lodging Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares RLJ Lodging Trust and Boston Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RLJ Lodging Trust	5.19%	3.58%	1.44%
Boston Properties	10.75%	4.40%	1.40%

Summary

Boston Properties beats RLJ Lodging Trust on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.

About Boston Properties

Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Including properties owned by joint ventures, BXP's portfolio totals 53.3 million square feet and 188 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. BXP's properties include 167 office properties, 14 retail properties (including two retail properties under construction/redevelopment), six residential properties (including one residential property under construction) and one hotel. BXP is well-known for its inhouse building management expertise and responsiveness to clients' needs. BXP holds a superior track record of developing premium Central Business District (CBD) office buildings, successful mixed-use complexes, suburban office centers and build-to-suit projects for a diverse array of creditworthy clients. BXP actively works to promote its growth and operations in a sustainable and responsible manner. BXP has earned a twelfth consecutive GRESB Green Star recognition and the highest GRESB 5-star Rating. BXP, an S&P 500 company, was founded in 1970 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and Edward H. Linde and became a public company in 1997.