Critical Contrast: Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) and Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT)

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) and Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Host Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Health Realty Income Trust has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Host Hotels & Resorts and Universal Health Realty Income Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Host Hotels & Resorts	13.35%	10.59%	5.84%
Universal Health Realty Income Trust	16.66%	7.88%	2.70%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.5% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.7% of Universal Health Realty Income Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Universal Health Realty Income Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Host Hotels & Resorts and Universal Health Realty Income Trust’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Host Hotels & Resorts	$5.31 billion	2.44	$740.00 million	$1.02	18.06
Universal Health Realty Income Trust	$97.49 million	5.33	$15.40 million	$1.17	32.12

Host Hotels & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Universal Health Realty Income Trust. Host Hotels & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Universal Health Realty Income Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Host Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Universal Health Realty Income Trust pays an annual dividend of $2.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. Host Hotels & Resorts pays out 78.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Universal Health Realty Income Trust pays out 247.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Host Hotels & Resorts has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Universal Health Realty Income Trust has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Host Hotels & Resorts and Universal Health Realty Income Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Host Hotels & Resorts	1	3	10	0	2.64
Universal Health Realty Income Trust	0	0	0	0	N/A

Host Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus target price of $21.29, suggesting a potential upside of 15.56%. Given Host Hotels & Resorts’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Host Hotels & Resorts is more favorable than Universal Health Realty Income Trust.

Summary

Host Hotels & Resorts beats Universal Health Realty Income Trust on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and is the largest lodging real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The Company currently owns 72 properties in the United States and five properties internationally totaling approximately 42,000 rooms. The Company also holds non-controlling interests in seven domestic and one international joint ventures. Guided by a disciplined approach to capital allocation and aggressive asset management, the Company partners with premium brands such as Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Westin, Sheraton, W, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Hyatt, Fairmont, Hilton, Four Seasons, Swissôtel, ibis and Novotel, as well as independent brands.

About Universal Health Realty Income Trust

Universal Health Realty Income Trust, a real estate investment trust, invests in healthcare and human-service related facilities including acute care hospitals, behavioral health care hospitals, specialty facilities, medical/office buildings, free-standing emergency departments and childcare centers. We have investments or commitments in seventy-six properties located in twenty-one states.