Reviewing Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) and Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR)

Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR) and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Acadia Realty Trust and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acadia Realty Trust	$359.69 million	7.15	$21.65 million	$0.18	119.34
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance	$195.66 million	7.01	-$119.64 million	($0.95)	-10.39

Acadia Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acadia Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Acadia Realty Trust has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a beta of 1.74, suggesting that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.7% of Acadia Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.4% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Acadia Realty Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are owned 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.

Dividends

Acadia Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.1%. Acadia Realty Trust pays out 444.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance pays out -105.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Acadia Realty Trust and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acadia Realty Trust	5.74%	0.88%	0.48%
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance	-39.40%	9.37%	2.03%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Acadia Realty Trust and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acadia Realty Trust	0	2	2	0	2.50
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance	0	4	0	0	2.00

Acadia Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.07%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a consensus target price of $9.08, indicating a potential downside of 7.99%. Given Acadia Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Acadia Realty Trust is more favorable than Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance.

Summary

Acadia Realty Trust beats Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acadia Realty Trust

Acadia Realty Trust is an equity real estate investment trust focused on delivering long-term, profitable growth via its dual Core Portfolio and Fund operating platforms and its disciplined, location-driven investment strategy. Acadia Realty Trust is accomplishing this goal by building a best-in-class core real estate portfolio with meaningful concentrations of assets in the nation's most dynamic corridors; making profitable opportunistic and value-add investments through its series of discretionary, institutional funds; and maintaining a strong balance sheet.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. It is qualified as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income taxes, if the company distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is based in New York, New York.