Top 20 REIT Stocks by Marvin Score
Marvin's rules picked 20 REITs across property and mortgage types, ranked by Overall score. Scores compare each company with others in its own industry, so they show relative strength, not a forecast.
REITs, or real estate investment trusts, are companies that own or finance real estate. Marvin's rules selected the 20 below from across the REIT world, including healthcare, retail, industrial, office, residential, hotel, mortgage, diversified and specialty groups.
Marvin's scores compare each company with others in its own industry, so a high score does not mean the stock beats a different type of REIT. Use the figures in each blurb as a starting point and check how debt, growth and margins differ between property types.
Some figures are missing for some companies, and each blurb says so. Mortgage REITs and property-owning REITs earn money in different ways, so their margins and debt levels are not directly comparable.
The list
How Marvin ranked these stocks
Marvin chose companies above a minimum size threshold and ranked them by Overall score, highest first. The group covers the related REIT industries, with a limit on how many stocks any one industry can contribute. Each score is relative to the company's own industry, so a strong score means it compares well with industry peers today, not that it will do well in the future.
Companies above about $300 million in size, ranked by Marvin scores (0-100, relative to each company's own industry). The 9 related industries in this group (REIT - Diversified, REIT - Healthcare Facilities, REIT - Hotel & Motel, REIT - Industrial, REIT - Mortgage, REIT - Office, REIT - Residential, REIT - Retail, REIT - Specialty), highest Overall score first; at most 4 per industry.
The stocks, one by one
CareTrust REIT, Inc. CTRE
A healthcare facilities REIT with an Overall score of 96. Revenue grew 60.8% last fiscal year, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27 points to low debt. Caution: return on equity of 7.9% is modest, and operating margin is not available.
Ellington Financial Inc. EFC
A mortgage REIT with an Overall score of 96. Revenue grew 10.1% last fiscal year, and operating margin of 37.2% suggests healthy profitability. Return on equity is 9.9%. Caution: no debt-to-equity figure is available, so leverage is unclear.
EPR Properties EPR
A specialty REIT with an Overall score of 95 and operating margin of 55.1%, which is strong. Return on equity is 11.4%. Caution: revenue growth of 2.9% is slow, and debt-to-equity of 1.53 is a heavier debt load than most here.
Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. EPRT
A diversified REIT with an Overall score of 95. Revenue grew 24.8% last fiscal year, and operating margin of 62.8% is strong. Debt-to-equity is a moderate 0.67. Caution: return on equity of 6.1% is on the low side.
NNN REIT, Inc. NNN
A retail REIT with an Overall score of 95. Operating margin of 62.3% is strong, and revenue grew a steady 6.6% last fiscal year. Return on equity is 8.6%. Caution: its opportunity score of 74 is lower than its quality score, and no debt figure is available.
American Homes 4 Rent AMH
A residential REIT with an Overall score of 94 and a Quality score of 89. Return on equity is 8.0%, and debt-to-equity of 0.76 is moderate. Caution: revenue growth and operating margin are not available, so the picture of its growth and profitability is incomplete.
Postal Realty Trust, Inc. PSTL
An office REIT with an Overall score of 94. Revenue grew 25.5% last fiscal year, and operating margin is 37.8%. Caution: return on equity of 5.2% is low, and debt-to-equity of 1.15 is higher than the least-indebted names here.
Terreno Realty Corporation TRNO
An industrial REIT with an Overall score of 94 and an Opportunity score of 95. Revenue grew 24.5% last fiscal year, and debt-to-equity of 0.21 is very low. Caution: its Quality score of 76 is weaker than most here, and operating margin is not available.
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. HST
A hotel REIT with an Overall score of 93. Return on equity of 16.1% is the highest among the lodging names, and revenue grew 7.6% last fiscal year. Caution: operating margin of 14.6% is thin next to other REITs, and no debt figure is available.
MFA Financial, Inc. MFA
A mortgage REIT with an Overall score of 90 and an Opportunity score of 92. Return on equity is 8.3%. Caution: its Quality score of 74 is lower than its Overall score, and growth, margins and debt are not available, so little detail can be checked.
Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. FCPT
A retail REIT with an Overall score of 92. Revenue grew 9.7% last fiscal year, and debt-to-equity of 0.78 is moderate. Return on equity is 7.3%. Caution: its Opportunity score of 70 is lower than its Quality score, and operating margin is not available.
CTO Realty Growth, Inc. CTO
A diversified REIT with an Overall score of 91. Revenue grew 20.1% last fiscal year, with a gross margin of 74.7% and an operating margin of 23.5%. Caution: return on equity of 2.4% is weak, and debt-to-equity is 1.13.
Adamas Trust, Inc. ADAM
A mortgage REIT with an Overall score of 93 and an Opportunity score of 95. Return on equity of 13.7% is solid, and debt-to-equity of 0.46 is low. Caution: its Quality score of 79 is the lowest in this list, and growth is not available.
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. GLPI
A specialty REIT with an Overall score of 89. Operating margin of 82.5% and return on equity of 19.4% are both very strong. Caution: revenue growth of 4.1% is modest, and debt-to-equity of 1.68 is a heavy debt load.
LTC Properties, Inc. LTC
A healthcare facilities REIT with an Overall score of 89. Revenue grew 25.3% last fiscal year, operating margin is 62.6%, and debt-to-equity of 0.61 is moderate. Return on equity is 10.7%. Caution: one year of growth does not show a long-term trend.
Vivmark Residential VMRK
A residential REIT with an Overall score of 78 and a Quality score of 68. Return on equity is 8.3%, a middling level. Caution: growth, margins and debt are not available, so most of the usual checks cannot be made, and its Opportunity score is 83.
Agree Realty Corporation ADC
A retail REIT with an Overall score of 88 and a Quality score of 96. Revenue grew 16.4% last fiscal year, and operating margin is 47.9%. Caution: return on equity of 3.4% is low, and its Opportunity score of 53 is the lowest in this list.
COPT Defense Properties CDP
An office REIT with an Overall score of 88. Return on equity is a healthy 11.2%. Caution: revenue growth of 1.4% is very slow, debt-to-equity of 1.72 is among the higher levels here, and operating margin is not available.
EastGroup Properties, Inc. EGP
An industrial REIT with an Overall score of 88 and a Quality score of 95. Revenue grew 12.7% last fiscal year, and debt-to-equity of 0.45 is low. Return on equity is 8.5%. Caution: operating margin is not available.
VICI Properties Inc. VICI
A diversified REIT with an Overall score of 82 and a very high gross margin of 99.3%. Debt-to-equity is 0.61, and return on equity is 9.5%. Caution: revenue growth of 4.1% is modest, and its Opportunity score is only 57.
Common questions
What is a REIT?
A REIT, or real estate investment trust, is a company that owns or finances real estate that produces income, such as buildings or mortgages. REITs usually have to return a large share of their taxable income to shareholders, which is why they are often followed by income-focused investors.
Why do mortgage REITs look different from other REITs in this list?
Mortgage REITs mainly hold or finance loans instead of owning buildings. Their margins, debt levels and growth are driven by lending and funding costs, so those figures should not be compared directly with property-owning REITs. That is also why Marvin scores each company against its own industry.
Why are some figures missing for certain stocks?
Not every company reports every measure in a form Marvin can use. When a figure such as growth, operating margin or debt-to-equity is not available, the blurb says so and does not guess. A missing figure means that part of the picture could not be checked.
Keep reading
- Top 15 Real Estate Stocks Marvin Rates Most Attractive Now
- Top 15 Real Estate Companies With the Strongest Businesses
- Top 15 Real Estate Stocks Ranked by Marvin Scores
- Top 15 Retail REIT Stocks, Ranked by Marvin Scores
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Marvin's scores (0-100) compare each company with others in its industry today. Growth and margin figures come from SEC filings. This is general information, not personal investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Do your own research.