Head to Head Contrast: Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) versus OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT)

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) and Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) are both real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

OUTFRONT Media has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinix has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares OUTFRONT Media and Equinix’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%
Equinix	15.64%	10.76%	3.83%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for OUTFRONT Media and Equinix, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OUTFRONT Media	0	1	6	0	2.86
Equinix	0	4	21	2	2.93

OUTFRONT Media currently has a consensus price target of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.23%. Equinix has a consensus price target of $1,203.40, indicating a potential upside of 11.40%. Given Equinix’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Equinix is more favorable than OUTFRONT Media.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares OUTFRONT Media and Equinix”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OUTFRONT Media	$1.93 billion	2.79	$147.00 million	$1.39	21.99
Equinix	$9.22 billion	11.56	$1.35 billion	$15.53	69.56

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.9% of Equinix shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of OUTFRONT Media shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Equinix shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

OUTFRONT Media pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Equinix pays an annual dividend of $20.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. OUTFRONT Media pays out 95.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinix pays out 132.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinix has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. OUTFRONT Media is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Equinix beats OUTFRONT Media on 12 of the 18 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 Equinix

Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.