CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) and Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) Critical Comparison

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

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$281.14 million	6.38	-$1.55 million	$0.51	63.51
CubeSmart	$1.12 billion	7.96	$333.78 million	$1.45	27.37

CubeSmart has higher revenue and earnings than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. CubeSmart 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.6% of CubeSmart shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of Smartstop Self Storage REIT shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of CubeSmart shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. CubeSmart pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. 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. CubeSmart pays out 146.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. CubeSmart has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. CubeSmart is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	9.68%	2.33%	1.23%
CubeSmart	29.41%	12.35%	5.03%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Smartstop Self Storage REIT and CubeSmart, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	4	4	2	2.64
CubeSmart	0	8	6	0	2.43

Smartstop Self Storage REIT presently has a consensus target price of $36.86, indicating a potential upside of 13.80%. CubeSmart has a consensus target price of $43.55, indicating a potential upside of 9.71%. Given Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Smartstop Self Storage REIT is more favorable than CubeSmart.

Risk & Volatility

Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CubeSmart has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CubeSmart beats Smartstop Self Storage REIT on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.