Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) versus Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) Head-To-Head Comparison

Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) and Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stag Industrial	28.25%	6.80%	3.47%
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	4.38%	1.00%	0.54%

Volatility & Risk

Stag Industrial has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Stag Industrial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Stag Industrial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Smartstop Self Storage REIT shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Stag Industrial and Smartstop Self Storage REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stag Industrial	$845.18 million	8.43	$273.52 million	$1.29	28.87
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$281.14 million	6.09	-$1.55 million	$0.15	206.23

Stag Industrial has higher revenue and earnings than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. Stag Industrial 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 current ratings and recommmendations for Stag Industrial and Smartstop Self Storage REIT, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stag Industrial	1	6	2	0	2.11
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	3	5	2	2.73

Stag Industrial currently has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.41%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a consensus price target of $37.17, indicating a potential upside of 20.14%. Given Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Smartstop Self Storage REIT is more favorable than Stag Industrial.

Dividends

Stag Industrial pays an annual dividend of $1.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Stag Industrial pays out 120.2% 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 1,086.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stag Industrial has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Summary

Stag Industrial beats Smartstop Self Storage REIT on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stag Industrial

STAG Industrial, Inc. is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

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.