Head-To-Head Analysis: Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF) & Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR)

Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF) and Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Global Self Storage pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Acadia Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Global Self Storage pays out 107.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Acadia Realty Trust pays out 444.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Global Self Storage is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Global Self Storage and Acadia Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Self Storage	25.47%	6.55%	4.73%
Acadia Realty Trust	5.74%	0.88%	0.48%

Volatility and Risk

Global Self Storage has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acadia Realty Trust has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

28.9% of Global Self Storage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of Acadia Realty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of Global Self Storage shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Acadia Realty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Global Self Storage and Acadia Realty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Self Storage	$12.32 million	4.67	$2.94 million	$0.27	18.93
Acadia Realty Trust	$359.69 million	7.15	$21.65 million	$0.18	119.36

Acadia Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Global Self Storage. Global Self Storage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acadia Realty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Global Self Storage and Acadia Realty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Self Storage	0	0	1	0	3.00
Acadia Realty Trust	0	2	2	0	2.50

Global Self Storage presently has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 27.20%. Acadia Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.05%. Given Global Self Storage’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Global Self Storage is more favorable than Acadia Realty Trust.

Summary

Global Self Storage beats Acadia Realty Trust on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Self Storage

Global Self Storage is a self-administered and self-managed REIT that owns, operates, manages, acquires, and redevelops self-storage properties. The company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and secure storage space for residential and commercial customers. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company owns and/or manages 13 self-storage properties in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Oklahoma.

About Acadia Realty Trust

Acadia Realty Trust is an equity real estate investment trust focused on delivering long-term, profitable growth via its dual Core Portfolio and Fund operating platforms and its disciplined, location-driven investment strategy. Acadia Realty Trust is accomplishing this goal by building a best-in-class core real estate portfolio with meaningful concentrations of assets in the nation's most dynamic corridors; making profitable opportunistic and value-add investments through its series of discretionary, institutional funds; and maintaining a strong balance sheet.