Head to Head Comparison: Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) vs. OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT)

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

Earnings & Valuation

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

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

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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Smartstop Self Storage REIT and OUTFRONT Media, 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
OUTFRONT Media	0	1	6	0	2.86

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

Volatility & Risk

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

Dividends

Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. OUTFRONT Media pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. 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. 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.

Profitability

This table compares Smartstop Self Storage REIT and OUTFRONT Media’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%
OUTFRONT Media	12.66%	37.44%	4.65%

Summary

OUTFRONT Media beats Smartstop Self Storage REIT on 11 of the 15 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 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.