Head to Head Survey: Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) and Transcontinental Realty Investors (NYSE:TCI)

Transcontinental Realty Investors (NYSE:TCI) and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.7% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are held by institutional investors. 86.2% of Transcontinental Realty Investors shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Transcontinental Realty Investors and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Transcontinental Realty Investors	6.55%	0.38%	0.30%
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	9.03%	2.22%	1.18%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Transcontinental Realty Investors and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc., as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Transcontinental Realty Investors	0	0	0	0	0.00
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	0	3	3	0	2.50

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a consensus price target of $39.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.85%. Given Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. is more favorable than Transcontinental Realty Investors.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Transcontinental Realty Investors and Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Transcontinental Realty Investors	$49.90 million	4.78	$5.94 million	$0.37	74.66
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	$610.12 million	7.29	$56.85 million	$0.46	78.89

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Transcontinental Realty Investors. Transcontinental Realty Investors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Phillips Edison & Company, Inc., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Transcontinental Realty Investors has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. beats Transcontinental Realty Investors on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Transcontinental Realty Investors

Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc., a Dallas-based real estate investment company, holds a diverse portfolio of equity real estate located across the U.S., including office buildings, apartments, shopping centers, and developed and undeveloped land. The Company invests in real estate through direct ownership, leases and partnerships and invests in mortgage loans on real estate. The Company also holds mortgage receivables.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Co., Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of shopping centers. It also offers an investment management business providing property management and advisory services. Its portfolio consists of well-occupied, grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers having a mix of national, regional, and local retailers offering necessity-based goods and services. The company was founded by Jeffrey S. Edison and Michael C. Phillips in 1991 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.