Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) versus OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Head to Head Analysis

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) and Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) are both real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for OUTFRONT Media and Smartstop Self Storage REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OUTFRONT Media	0	1	6	0	2.86
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	3	4	2	2.70

OUTFRONT Media currently has a consensus price target of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.51%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a consensus price target of $36.38, suggesting a potential upside of 6.47%. Given OUTFRONT Media’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe OUTFRONT Media is more favorable than Smartstop Self Storage REIT.

Dividends

OUTFRONT Media pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. OUTFRONT Media pays out 86.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays out 319.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Risk and Volatility

OUTFRONT Media has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares OUTFRONT Media and Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OUTFRONT Media	12.66%	37.44%	4.65%
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	9.68%	2.33%	1.23%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares OUTFRONT Media and Smartstop Self Storage REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OUTFRONT Media	$1.83 billion	2.91	$147.00 million	$1.39	21.74
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$281.14 million	6.73	-$1.55 million	$0.51	66.99

OUTFRONT Media has higher revenue and earnings than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. OUTFRONT Media is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smartstop Self Storage REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

OUTFRONT Media beats Smartstop Self Storage REIT on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media, Inc. leases advertising space on out-of-home advertising structures and sites. Its inventory consists of billboard displays, which are primarily located on the most heavily traveled highways & roadways, and transit advertising displays operated under exclusive multi-year contracts with municipalities in large cities across the U.S. and Canada. It operates through the U.S. Media and other segments. The U.S. Media segment includes U.S. Billboard and Transit. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About Smartstop Self Storage REIT

Symmetry Medical Inc. (Symmetry) is a medical device solutions company, including surgical instruments, orthopedic implants, and sterilization cases and trays. The Company designs, develops and offers worldwide production and supply chain capabilities for these products to customers in the orthopedic industry, and other medical device markets (including but not limited to arthroscopy, dental, laparoscopy, osteobiologic, and endoscopy segments). It also manufactures specialized non-healthcare products, primarily in the aerospace industry. The Company operates in two segments: original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutions and symmetry surgical. On August 15, 2011, the Company acquired PSC Industries, Inc’s Olsen Medical division. On December 29, 2011 it acquired the surgical instruments product portfolio from Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company.