Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) & Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) Financial Comparison

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

Volatility & Risk

Whitestone REIT has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Whitestone REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Whitestone REIT pays out 59.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays out 1,046.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Whitestone REIT has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Whitestone REIT	$160.86 million	6.06	$49.93 million	$0.96	19.74
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$294.00 million	6.20	-$1.55 million	$0.15	219.53

Whitestone REIT has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. Whitestone REIT 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 Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Whitestone REIT and Smartstop Self Storage REIT, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Whitestone REIT	0	9	1	0	2.10
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	3	4	2	2.70

Whitestone REIT presently has a consensus target price of $17.80, suggesting a potential downside of 6.09%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a consensus target price of $36.81, suggesting a potential upside of 11.79%. Given Smartstop Self Storage REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Smartstop Self Storage REIT is more favorable than Whitestone REIT.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.5% of Whitestone REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Whitestone REIT 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, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Whitestone REIT	30.67%	11.12%	4.34%
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	4.38%	1.00%	0.54%

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities. The Company believes its strong community connections and deep tenant relationships are key to the success of its current centers and its acquisition strategy.

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.