Reviewing Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) & CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE)

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) and CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.6% of CubeSmart shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of CubeSmart shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Piedmont Realty Trust and CubeSmart’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Piedmont Realty Trust	-14.80%	-5.44%	-2.09%
CubeSmart	33.31%	12.49%	5.37%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Piedmont Realty Trust and CubeSmart”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Piedmont Realty Trust	$564.99 million	1.76	-$83.62 million	($0.68)	-11.74
CubeSmart	$929.08 million	9.89	$391.18 million	$1.56	25.84

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Piedmont Realty Trust and CubeSmart, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Piedmont Realty Trust	1	2	1	0	2.00
CubeSmart	0	11	5	0	2.31

Piedmont Realty Trust currently has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.71%. CubeSmart has a consensus target price of $44.13, indicating a potential upside of 9.48%. Given Piedmont Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Piedmont Realty Trust is more favorable than CubeSmart.

Volatility and Risk

Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CubeSmart has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CubeSmart beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Piedmont Realty Trust

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.

About CubeSmart

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the 2023 Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.