Head-To-Head Review: Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) vs. LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC)

Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) and LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

69.3% of LTC Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Smartstop Self Storage REIT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of LTC Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LTC Properties has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Smartstop Self Storage REIT and LTC Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	3	4	2	2.70
LTC Properties	0	4	3	0	2.43

Smartstop Self Storage REIT presently has a consensus price target of $36.81, suggesting a potential upside of 10.47%. LTC Properties has a consensus price target of $40.60, suggesting a potential upside of 4.65%. Given Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Smartstop Self Storage REIT is more favorable than LTC Properties.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Smartstop Self Storage REIT and LTC Properties”s top-line 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	6.56	-$1.55 million	$0.15	222.15
LTC Properties	$262.85 million	7.55	$117.97 million	$2.47	15.71

LTC Properties has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. LTC Properties 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.

Dividends

Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. LTC Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays out 1,053.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LTC Properties pays out 92.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LTC Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	4.38%	1.00%	0.54%
LTC Properties	38.99%	10.87%	6.03%

Summary

LTC Properties beats Smartstop Self Storage REIT on 10 of the 17 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 LTC Properties

LTC Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in managing seniors housing and health care properties. It operates through the Texas, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Remaining States geographic segments. The company was founded by Andre C. Dimitriadis on May 12, 1992 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, CA.