Head to Head Survey: Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) versus Gladstone Land (NASDAQ:LAND)

Gladstone Land (NASDAQ:LAND) and Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) are both real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Gladstone Land pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.6%. Public Storage pays an annual dividend of $12.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Gladstone Land pays out -101.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Public Storage pays out 125.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Gladstone Land has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Gladstone Land is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

53.6% of Gladstone Land shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.8% of Public Storage shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Gladstone Land shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Public Storage shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Gladstone Land and Public Storage”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gladstone Land	$88.34 million	3.59	$13.53 million	($0.55)	-13.37
Public Storage	$4.82 billion	12.99	$1.78 billion	$9.55	35.12

Public Storage has higher revenue and earnings than Gladstone Land. Gladstone Land is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Public Storage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Gladstone Land has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Public Storage has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Gladstone Land and Public Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gladstone Land	-7.31%	-0.96%	-0.53%
Public Storage	37.76%	29.93%	8.52%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Gladstone Land and Public Storage, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gladstone Land	1	1	0	1	2.33
Public Storage	0	14	7	0	2.33

Public Storage has a consensus target price of $325.79, indicating a potential downside of 2.86%. Given Public Storage’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Public Storage is more favorable than Gladstone Land.

Summary

Public Storage beats Gladstone Land on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gladstone Land

Gladstone Land Corporation is a real estate investment trust focused on owning and leasing U.S. farmland. Its portfolio includes farms used to grow fresh produce and permanent crops, such as fruits and nuts, as well as land devoted to traditional row crops. The company generally leases its properties to farmers under long-term agreements. Its farms are located across multiple agricultural regions of the United States, and its portfolio may include related assets such as irrigation and water rights.

About Public Storage

Public Storage is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates self-storage facilities. Its properties offer individuals and businesses rental storage units in a range of sizes for household goods, business inventory, and other belongings. The company also provides related services, including storage protection plans. Founded in 1972, Public Storage has grown into a major self-storage provider in the United States, with facilities serving customers across the country. Its business also has a connection to Europe through its investment in Shurgard Self Storage, which operates self-storage properties in several European markets.