Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) vs. Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Financial Comparison

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) and Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equinix	$9.22 billion	11.09	$1.35 billion	$15.53	66.71
Lamar Advertising	$2.27 billion	6.76	$587.15 million	$5.48	27.51

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Equinix and Lamar Advertising, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equinix	0	4	21	2	2.93
Lamar Advertising	0	3	2	0	2.40

Equinix presently has a consensus target price of $1,203.40, indicating a potential upside of 16.16%. Lamar Advertising has a consensus target price of $160.17, indicating a potential upside of 6.24%. Given Equinix’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Equinix is more favorable than Lamar Advertising.

Profitability

This table compares Equinix and Lamar Advertising’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equinix	15.64%	10.76%	3.83%
Lamar Advertising	23.90%	54.94%	8.04%

Dividends

Equinix pays an annual dividend of $20.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lamar Advertising pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. 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. Lamar Advertising pays out 116.8% 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 and Lamar Advertising has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Lamar Advertising is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Equinix has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lamar Advertising has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.9% of Equinix shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Equinix shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Equinix beats Lamar Advertising on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals. Lamar Advertising Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.