Financial Comparison: CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) vs. Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA)

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

Dividends

CubeSmart pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. 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. 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 has raised its dividend for 16 consecutive years. CubeSmart is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CubeSmart	$1.12 billion	7.92	$333.78 million	$1.45	27.25
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$281.14 million	6.42	-$1.55 million	$0.51	63.94

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.

Profitability

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

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

Risk and Volatility

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

CubeSmart currently has a consensus price target of $43.45, suggesting a potential upside of 9.98%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a consensus price target of $36.86, suggesting a potential upside of 13.04%. Given Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Smartstop Self Storage REIT is more favorable than CubeSmart.

Summary

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

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.

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.