Digital Realty Trust (DLR) Competitors

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) and Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Is EQIX or DLR a better dividend stock?

Equinix pays an annual dividend of $18.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Digital Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $4.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Equinix pays out 195.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Digital Realty Trust pays out 456.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinix has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Which has more risk and volatility, EQIX or DLR?

Equinix has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Digital Realty Trust has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of EQIX or DLR?

94.9% of Equinix shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Digital Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Equinix shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Digital Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to EQIX or DLR?

In the previous week, Equinix had 7 more articles in the media than Digital Realty Trust. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Equinix and 27 mentions for Digital Realty Trust. Digital Realty Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.45 beat Equinix's score of 0.94 indicating that Digital Realty Trust is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equinix	17 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Digital Realty Trust	25 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is EQIX or DLR more profitable?

Equinix has a net margin of 10.48% compared to Digital Realty Trust's net margin of 7.65%. Equinix's return on equity of 6.96% beat Digital Realty Trust's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equinix	10.48%	6.96%	2.66%
Digital Realty Trust	7.65%	2.07%	0.96%

Which has better valuation & earnings, EQIX or DLR?

Equinix has higher revenue and earnings than Digital Realty Trust. Equinix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Digital Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equinix	$8.75B	8.56	$815M	$9.62	79.59
Digital Realty Trust	$5.63B	10.34	$615.19M	$1.07	161.57

Do analysts rate EQIX or DLR?

Equinix presently has a consensus price target of $957.05, indicating a potential upside of 25.00%. Digital Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $187.16, indicating a potential upside of 8.26%. Given Equinix's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Equinix is more favorable than Digital Realty Trust.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equinix	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	20 Buy rating(s)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.03
Digital Realty Trust	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Summary

Equinix beats Digital Realty Trust on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.