Head to Head Contrast: Power REIT (NYSE:PW) versus AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB)

Power REIT (NYSE:PW) and AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Power REIT and AvalonBay Communities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Power REIT	-736.66%	-92.65%	-35.81%
AvalonBay Communities	33.56%	7.98%	4.51%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Power REIT and AvalonBay Communities’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Power REIT	$8.52 million	0.31	-$14.25 million	($8.85)	-0.09
AvalonBay Communities	$2.77 billion	9.43	$928.83 million	$6.55	28.04

AvalonBay Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Power REIT. Power REIT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AvalonBay Communities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

14.7% of Power REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.6% of AvalonBay Communities shares are held by institutional investors. 20.9% of Power REIT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of AvalonBay Communities shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Power REIT has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, AvalonBay Communities has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Power REIT and AvalonBay Communities, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Power REIT	0	0	0	0	N/A
AvalonBay Communities	0	8	8	0	2.50

AvalonBay Communities has a consensus price target of $197.03, suggesting a potential upside of 7.26%. Given AvalonBay Communities’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe AvalonBay Communities is more favorable than Power REIT.

Summary

AvalonBay Communities beats Power REIT on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Power REIT

Power REIT, with a focus on the Triple Bottom Line and a commitment to Profit, Planet and People is a specialized real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns sustainable real estate related to infrastructure assets including properties for Controlled Environment Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation. Power REIT is actively seeking to expand its real estate portfolio related to Controlled Environment Agriculture in the form of greenhouses for the cultivation of food and cannabis.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.