Reviewing Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple (NYSE:GRP.U) & Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF)

Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF) and Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple (NYSE:GRP.U) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.9% of Global Self Storage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of Global Self Storage shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Global Self Storage and Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple’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%
Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple	55.97%	5.71%	3.34%

Dividends

Global Self Storage pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple pays an annual dividend of $1.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. 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. Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple pays out 43.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Global Self Storage and Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Self Storage	$12.32 million	4.75	$2.94 million	$0.27	19.22
Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple	$550.94 million	5.21	$101.24 million	$3.58	12.79

Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple has higher revenue and earnings than Global Self Storage. Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Global Self Storage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Global Self Storage and Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple, 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
Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple	0	0	0	0	0.00

Global Self Storage presently has a consensus price target of $6.50, suggesting a potential upside of 25.24%. Given Global Self Storage’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Global Self Storage is more favorable than Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple.

Summary

Global Self Storage beats Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple on 8 of the 15 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 Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple

Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is engaged in the ownership and management of predominantly industrial properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe. The Company owns and manages rental income properties. Its services include sourcing and real estate acquisition, site development, assisting with government approvals and re-zoning to specific uses, build-to-suit construction, property renovation, project management and long-term leasing. Granite Real Estate Investment Trust, formerly known as Granite Real Estate Inc., is based in Toronto, Canada.