Which Is a Better Investment, Essential Properties Realty Trust Inc or Safehold Inc Stock?

By AAII Staff
September 03, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Diversified REITs industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. is an internally managed REIT that acquires, owns and manages primarily single-tenant properties that are net leased on a long-term basis to companies operating service-oriented or experience-based businesses. As of September 30, 2025, the Company’s portfolio consisted of 2,266 freestanding net lease properties with a weighted average lease term of 14.4 years and a weighted average rent coverage ratio of 3.6x. In addition, as of September 30, 2025, the Company’s portfolio was 99.8% leased to tenants operating 645 different concepts across 48 states. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

Safehold Inc. is revolutionizing real estate ownership by providing a new and better way for owners to unlock the value of the land beneath their buildings. Having created the modern ground lease industry in 2017, Safehold continues to help owners of high quality multifamily, affordable housing, office, industrial, hospitality, student housing, life science and mixed-use properties generate higher returns with less risk. The Company, which is taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT), seeks to deliver safe, growing income and long-term capital appreciation to its shareholders. Safehold Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is based in New York, United States.

Latest Diversified REITs and Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc., Safehold Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. had a $6.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Diversified REITs median of $1.1 million. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc.’s stock is up 1.7% in 2026, down 0.7% in the previous five trading days and down 2.47% in the past year.

Currently, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 23.3. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $615.5 million with a 43.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 18.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.340 per share for the current fiscal year. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. currently has a 4.3% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Safehold Inc. had a $1.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 46th percentile of all stocks. Safehold Inc.’s stock is up 13.1% in 2026, up 0.9% in the previous five trading days and down 4.38% in the past year.

Currently, Safehold Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 9.5. Safehold Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $436.4 million with a 26.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 19.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.629 per share for the current fiscal year. Safehold Inc. currently has a 4.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. 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 streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. EPRT D
Safehold Inc. SAFE C

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a Quality Score of 32, which is Weak. Safehold Inc. has a Quality Score of 43, which is Average.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. EPRT D
Safehold Inc. SAFE D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 39, which is Weak. Safehold Inc. has a Momentum Score of 37, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. EPRT C
Safehold Inc. SAFE D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 41, which is Neutral. Safehold Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 37, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

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Other Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

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Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. or Safehold Inc. Stock?

Overall, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 39, Estimate Revisions Score of 41 and Quality Score of 32.

Safehold Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 37, Estimate Revisions Score of 37 and Quality Score of 43.

Comparing Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. and Safehold Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

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

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



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