Financial Survey: Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) and Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) and Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Gaming and Leisure Properties and Smartstop Self Storage REIT, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gaming and Leisure Properties	0	6	5	0	2.45
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	3	4	2	2.70

Gaming and Leisure Properties currently has a consensus price target of $50.20, suggesting a potential upside of 14.46%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a consensus price target of $36.44, suggesting a potential upside of 5.66%. Given Gaming and Leisure Properties’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Gaming and Leisure Properties is more favorable than Smartstop Self Storage REIT.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Gaming and Leisure Properties and Smartstop Self Storage REIT”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gaming and Leisure Properties	$1.66 billion	7.71	$825.11 million	$3.41	12.86
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$281.14 million	6.79	-$1.55 million	$0.15	229.91

Gaming and Leisure Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. Gaming and Leisure Properties 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.

Dividends

Gaming and Leisure Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.5%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays out 96.2% 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. Gaming and Leisure Properties has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Gaming and Leisure Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gaming and Leisure Properties	59.01%	19.17%	7.29%
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	9.68%	2.32%	1.23%

Volatility and Risk

Gaming and Leisure Properties has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% 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 is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Gaming and Leisure Properties beats Smartstop Self Storage REIT on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.

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.