Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) vs. InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:IIPZF) Critical Comparison

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) and InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:IIPZF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone Mortgage Trust and InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	-12.91%	9.35%	1.68%
InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust	-8.47%	-0.81%	-0.47%

Volatility and Risk

Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Blackstone Mortgage Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.6%. InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust pays out -135.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust pays out -254.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Blackstone Mortgage Trust and InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	$2.04 billion	1.51	$246.55 million	($1.39)	-12.76
InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust	$175.65 million	5.92	$68.33 million	($0.11)	-64.09

Blackstone Mortgage Trust has higher revenue and earnings than InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust. InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blackstone Mortgage Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.2% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Blackstone Mortgage Trust and InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	0	5	3	0	2.38
InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	3	4.00

Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus target price of $20.14, indicating a potential upside of 13.58%. Given Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Blackstone Mortgage Trust is more favorable than InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust.

Summary

Blackstone Mortgage Trust beats InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc., a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets. It operates as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. The company was formerly known as Capital Trust, Inc. and changed its name to Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. in May 2013. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust

InterRent?REIT is a growth-oriented real estate investment trust engaged in increasing Unitholder value and creating a growing and sustainable distribution?through the acquisition and ownership of multi-residential properties. InterRent’s strategy is to expand its portfolio primarily within?markets that have exhibited stable market vacancies,?sufficient suites available to attain the critical mass necessary to implement?an efficient portfolio management structure, and?offer opportunities for accretive acquisitions. InterRent’s primary objectives are to use the proven industry experience of the Trustees,?Management and Operational Team to: (i)?to grow both funds from operations per Unit and net asset value per Unit through investments in a diversified portfolio of multi-residential properties; (ii)?to provide Unitholders with sustainable and growing cash distributions, payable monthly; and (iii)?to maintain a conservative payout ratio and balance sheet.