Critical Survey: Blackstone (NYSE:BX) versus DigitalBridge Group (NYSE:DBRG)

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and DigitalBridge Group (NYSE:DBRG) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone and DigitalBridge Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blackstone	20.84%	17.33%	7.37%
DigitalBridge Group	26.64%	3.14%	1.14%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Blackstone and DigitalBridge Group’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blackstone	$8.02 billion	10.48	$1.39 billion	$2.83	41.56
DigitalBridge Group	$877.28 million	2.57	$185.28 million	$1.55	8.35

Blackstone has higher revenue and earnings than DigitalBridge Group. DigitalBridge Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blackstone, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Blackstone pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. DigitalBridge Group pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Blackstone pays out 117.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. DigitalBridge Group pays out 2.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Risk & Volatility

Blackstone has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DigitalBridge Group has a beta of 1.96, suggesting that its stock price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.0% of Blackstone shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of DigitalBridge Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Blackstone shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of DigitalBridge Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Blackstone and DigitalBridge Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blackstone	0	12	6	0	2.33
DigitalBridge Group	0	0	3	1	3.25

Blackstone presently has a consensus price target of $123.65, suggesting a potential upside of 5.12%. DigitalBridge Group has a consensus price target of $22.00, suggesting a potential upside of 69.88%. Given DigitalBridge Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe DigitalBridge Group is more favorable than Blackstone.

Summary

Blackstone beats DigitalBridge Group on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc. is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services. The real estate segment specializes in opportunistic, core+ investments as well as debt investment opportunities collateralized by commercial real estate, and stabilized income-oriented commercial real estate across North America, Europe and Asia. The firm's corporate private equity business pursues transactions throughout the world across a variety of transaction types, including large buyouts,special situations, distressed mortgage loans, mid-cap buyouts, buy and build platforms, which involves multiple acquisitions behind a single management team and platform, and growth equity/development projects involving significant majority stakes in portfolio companies and minority investments in operating companies, shipping, real estate, corporate or consumer loans, and alternative energy greenfield development projects in energy and power, property, dislocated markets, shipping opportunities, financial institution breakups, re-insurance, and improving freight mobility, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, infrastructure, enterprise tech and consumer, as well as consumer technologies. The firm considers investment in Asia and Latin America. It seeks to invest between $0.25 million and $900 million per transaction. It invests in companies with enterprise value between $500 million and $5000 million. It has a three year investment period. Its hedge fund business manages a broad range of commingled and customized fund solutions and its credit business focuses on loans, and securities of non-investment grade companies spread across the capital structure including senior debt, subordinated debt, preferred stock and common equity. Blackstone Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in New York, New York with additional offices across Asia, Europe, North America and Central America.

About DigitalBridge Group

DigitalBridge is an infrastructure investment firm specializing in digital infrastructure assets. They provide services to institutional investors. They primarily invest in data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small cells, and edge infrastructure. DigitalBridge Group, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with additional offices in Los Angles, California, and New York New York.