Comparing Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) & Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) and Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lamar Advertising and Host Hotels & Resorts”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lamar Advertising	$2.21 billion	4.87	$495.76 million	$3.53	29.75
Host Hotels & Resorts	$5.68 billion	1.62	$740.00 million	$0.99	13.27

Host Hotels & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Lamar Advertising. Host Hotels & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lamar Advertising, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lamar Advertising and Host Hotels & Resorts, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lamar Advertising	0	4	1	0	2.20
Host Hotels & Resorts	1	5	8	0	2.50

Lamar Advertising presently has a consensus target price of $134.60, suggesting a potential upside of 28.15%. Host Hotels & Resorts has a consensus target price of $19.54, suggesting a potential upside of 48.67%. Given Host Hotels & Resorts’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Host Hotels & Resorts is more favorable than Lamar Advertising.

Volatility and Risk

Lamar Advertising has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Host Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Lamar Advertising pays an annual dividend of $6.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Host Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. Lamar Advertising pays out 175.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Host Hotels & Resorts pays out 80.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Host Hotels & Resorts is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Lamar Advertising and Host Hotels & Resorts’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lamar Advertising	16.40%	30.20%	5.53%
Host Hotels & Resorts	12.26%	10.37%	5.47%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.8% of Lamar Advertising shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by institutional investors. 15.0% of Lamar Advertising shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals. Lamar Advertising Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.