Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 3 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Office REITs industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Office REITs Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

Click the button below to learn more about A+ Investor and subscribe today.

3 Undervalued Office REITs Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 3 undervalued stocks in the Office REITs industry for Monday, November 25, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Office REITs industry median.

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Orion Office REIT Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Orion Office REIT specializes in the ownership, acquisition and management of a diversified portfolio of mission-critical and corporate headquarters office buildings in high-quality suburban markets across the U.S. The portfolio is leased primarily on a single-tenant net lease basis to creditworthy tenants. The company’s team of experienced industry leaders employs a proven, cycle-tested investment evaluation framework which serves as the lens through which capital allocation decisions are made for the current portfolio and future acquisitions.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Orion Office REIT Inc. has a Value Score of 95, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Orion Office REIT Inc.’s price-to-sales ratio at 1.35 compared to the industry median at 3.12, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Orion Office REIT Inc.’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Orion Office REIT Inc.’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 8.5, when compared to the industry median of 15.1, the company may be considered undervalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Orion Office REIT Inc.’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 3.50%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Orion Office REIT Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 0.72. This could make Orion Office REIT Inc. more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Orion Office REIT Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF), which can indicate a company’s market value relative to its operating cash flow. Orion Office REIT Inc.’s price-to-free-cash-flow ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 16.60. This could make Orion Office REIT Inc. more attractive because the lower P/FCF ratio indicates that Orion Office REIT Inc. is undervalued. The P/FCF ratio metric can also be viewed over a long-term time frame to see if the company's cash flow to share price value is generally improving or worsening.

Office Properties Income Trust’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

OPI is a national REIT focused on owning and leasing high quality office and mixed-use properties in select growth-oriented U.S. markets. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 64% of OPI's revenues were from investment grade rated tenants. OPI owned 152 properties as of December 31, 2023, with approximately 20.5 million square feet located in 30 states and Washington, D.C. In 2023, OPI was named as an Energy Star® Partner of the Year for the sixth consecutive year. OPI is managed by The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), a leading U.S. alternative asset management company with over $41 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023, and more than 35 years of institutional experience in buying, selling, financing and operating commercial real estate. OPI is headquartered in Newton, MA.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Office Properties Income Trust has a Value Score of 94, which is considered to be undervalued.

Office Properties Income Trust’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Office Properties Income Trust less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.72.

You can read more about Office Properties Income Trust’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. The Company was designated an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was the only office REIT headquartered in the Southeast to receive those designations. Approximately 85% of the Company's square footage is Energy Star certified and nearly 70% is LEED certified. Piedmont is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a Value Score of 86, which is considered to be undervalued.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.72.

You can read more about Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Other Office REITs Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Office REITs stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 3 Best Office REITs Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

• Orion Office REIT Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Office Properties Income Trust stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 3 undervalued stocks in the Office REITs industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Additional Resources About Office REITs Stocks

Want to learn more about Office REITs stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

• 3 Undervalued Office REITs Stocks for Monday, November 25
• 3 Undervalued Office REITs Stocks for Thursday, November 21
• 3 Undervalued Office REITs Stocks for Wednesday, November 20
• 3 Undervalued Office REITs Stocks for Monday, November 18

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.