Analyzing Lineage (NASDAQ:LINE) and Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Lineage (NASDAQ:LINE) and Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

3.3% of Lineage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Equity Residential shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Lineage shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Equity Residential shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Lineage and Equity Residential’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lineage	N/A	N/A	N/A
Equity Residential	32.83%	8.53%	4.80%

Dividends

Lineage pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Equity Residential pays an annual dividend of $2.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lineage pays out -11.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equity Residential pays out 112.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lineage and Equity Residential, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lineage	0	5	11	1	2.76
Equity Residential	0	11	7	0	2.39

Lineage currently has a consensus price target of $93.63, indicating a potential upside of 16.09%. Equity Residential has a consensus price target of $75.62, indicating a potential downside of 2.35%. Given Lineage’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Lineage is more favorable than Equity Residential.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lineage and Equity Residential”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lineage	$5.33 billion	3.45	-$3.11 billion	($13.67)	-5.90
Equity Residential	$2.92 billion	10.08	$835.44 million	$2.41	32.13

Equity Residential has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Lineage. Lineage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equity Residential, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Equity Residential beats Lineage on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lineage

Lineage, Inc. is the world’s largest global temperature-controlled warehouse REIT with a network of over 480 strategically located facilities totaling over 84.1 million square feet and 3.0 billion cubic feet of capacity across countries in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Coupling end-to-end supply chain solutions and technology, Lineage partners with some of the world’s largest food and beverage producers, retailers, and distributors to help increase distribution efficiency, advance sustainability, minimize supply chain waste, and, most importantly, feed the world.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Austin.