Financial Analysis: EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) & WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:WPTIF)

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) and WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:WPTIF) are both real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares EastGroup Properties and WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EastGroup Properties	31.87%	8.19%	4.21%
WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.7% of EastGroup Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of EastGroup Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for EastGroup Properties and WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EastGroup Properties	0	4	6	0	2.60
WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	0	N/A

EastGroup Properties presently has a consensus target price of $186.08, indicating a potential upside of 8.87%. Given EastGroup Properties’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe EastGroup Properties is more favorable than WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares EastGroup Properties and WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EastGroup Properties	$551.28 million	14.36	$186.18 million	$3.95	43.27
WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

EastGroup Properties has higher revenue and earnings than WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust.

Summary

EastGroup Properties beats WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 20,000 to 100,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. The Company's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 59 million square feet.

About WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust

WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust engages in the acquisition, development, and owning industrial investment properties. It focuses on the warehouse and distribution properties. The company was founded on March 4, 2013 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.