Head-To-Head Analysis: Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) versus Realty Income (NYSE:O)

Realty Income (NYSE:O) and Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:AIV) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Realty Income and Apartment Investment and Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Realty Income	17.89%	2.36%	1.35%
Apartment Investment and Management	-113.14%	-51.94%	-10.54%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.8% of Realty Income shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.3% of Apartment Investment and Management shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Realty Income shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Apartment Investment and Management 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Realty Income and Apartment Investment and Management”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Realty Income	$4.72 billion	11.40	$872.31 million	$1.08	57.18
Apartment Investment and Management	$198.40 million	6.32	-$166.20 million	($1.18)	-7.34

Realty Income has higher revenue and earnings than Apartment Investment and Management. Apartment Investment and Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Realty Income, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Realty Income has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apartment Investment and Management has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Realty Income and Apartment Investment and Management, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Realty Income	0	8	6	0	2.43
Apartment Investment and Management	0	0	0	0	N/A

Realty Income currently has a consensus target price of $63.63, indicating a potential upside of 3.05%. Given Realty Income’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Realty Income is more favorable than Apartment Investment and Management.

Dividends

Realty Income pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Apartment Investment and Management pays an annual dividend of $1.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.7%. Realty Income pays out 292.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Apartment Investment and Management pays out -85.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Realty Income has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years. Apartment Investment and Management is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Realty Income beats Apartment Investment and Management on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Realty Income

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company, is an S&P 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index. We invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. The company is structured as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 15,450 real estate properties (including properties acquired in the Spirit merger in January 2024) primarily owned under long-term net lease agreements with commercial clients. To date, the company has declared 644 consecutive monthly dividends on its shares of common stock throughout its 55-year operating history and increased the dividend 123 times since Realty Income's public listing in 1994 (NYSE: O).

About Apartment Investment and Management

Aimco is a diversified real estate company primarily focused on value add and opportunistic investments, targeting the U.S. multifamily sector. Aimco’s mission is to make real estate investments where outcomes are enhanced through our human capital so that substantial value is created for investors, teammates, and the communities in which we operate. Aimco is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as AIV.