Contrasting RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) & InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:IIPZF)

InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:IIPZF) and RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE:RLJ) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust	14.82%	1.38%	0.81%
RLJ Lodging Trust	4.93%	3.34%	1.35%

Volatility & Risk

InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RLJ Lodging Trust has a beta of 1.7, meaning that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust and RLJ Lodging Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust	0	0	0	0	N/A
RLJ Lodging Trust	1	3	4	0	2.38

RLJ Lodging Trust has a consensus price target of $12.69, suggesting a potential upside of 37.16%. Given RLJ Lodging Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe RLJ Lodging Trust is more favorable than InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust and RLJ Lodging Trust’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust	$175.65 million	7.45	$68.33 million	$0.18	50.00
RLJ Lodging Trust	$1.33 billion	1.08	$76.40 million	$0.28	33.04

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.4% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 6.8% of InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of RLJ Lodging Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. RLJ Lodging Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 150.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. RLJ Lodging Trust pays out 142.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. RLJ Lodging Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

RLJ Lodging Trust beats InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About RLJ Lodging Trust

RLJ Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns primarily premium-branded, high-margin, focused-service and compact full-service hotels. The Company's portfolio currently consists of 96 hotels with approximately 21,200 rooms, located in 23 states and the District of Columbia and an ownership interest in one unconsolidated hotel with 171 rooms.