Reviewing Welltower (NYSE:WELL) & Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG)

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) and Welltower (NYSE:WELL) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Simon Property Group has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Welltower has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Simon Property Group and Welltower”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Simon Property Group	$5.91 billion	9.53	$2.28 billion	$7.51	22.99
Welltower	$6.64 billion	12.08	$340.09 million	$1.52	84.69

Simon Property Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Welltower. Simon Property Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Welltower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Simon Property Group and Welltower, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Simon Property Group	0	7	3	0	2.30
Welltower	0	4	7	2	2.85

Simon Property Group presently has a consensus price target of $172.10, indicating a potential downside of 0.33%. Welltower has a consensus price target of $127.63, indicating a potential downside of 0.86%. Given Simon Property Group’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Simon Property Group is more favorable than Welltower.

Profitability

This table compares Simon Property Group and Welltower’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Simon Property Group	43.36%	76.21%	7.61%
Welltower	12.22%	3.20%	2.00%

Dividends

Simon Property Group pays an annual dividend of $8.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Welltower pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Simon Property Group pays out 111.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Welltower pays out 176.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Simon Property Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.0% of Simon Property Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Welltower shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.5% of Simon Property Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Welltower shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Simon Property Group beats Welltower on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. In this package, the terms Simon, we, our, or the Company refer to Simon Property Group, Inc., the Operating Partnership, and its subsidiaries. We own, develop and manage premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations, which consist primarily of malls, Premium Outlets, The Mills, and International Properties. At June 30, 2024, we owned or had an interest in 230 properties comprising 183 million square feet in North America, Asia and Europe. We also owned an 84% interest in The Taubman Realty Group, or TRG, which owns 22 regional, super-regional, and outlet malls in the U.S. and Asia. Additionally, at June 30, 2024, we had a 22.4% ownership interest in Klépierre, a publicly traded, Paris-based real estate company, which owns shopping centers in 14 European countries.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience. Welltower owns interests in properties concentrated in major, high-growth markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, consisting of seniors housing and post-acute communities and outpatient medical properties.