Life Storage (NYSE: LSI) and Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitabiliy, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Dividends
Life Storage pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Public Storage pays an annual dividend of $8.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Life Storage pays out 227.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Public Storage pays out 113.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Life Storage has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Life Storage is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Risk and Volatility
Life Storage has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Public Storage has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Life Storage and Public Storage, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Life Storage | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.17 |
| Public Storage | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1.91 |
Life Storage currently has a consensus target price of $90.27, suggesting a potential upside of 22.07%. Public Storage has a consensus target price of $224.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.81%. Given Life Storage’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Life Storage is more favorable than Public Storage.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
96.3% of Life Storage shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.5% of Public Storage shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Life Storage shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.4% of Public Storage shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Life Storage and Public Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Life Storage | 15.72% | 3.68% | 2.06% |
| Public Storage | 54.13% | 27.74% | 14.02% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Life Storage and Public Storage’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Life Storage | $458.65 million | 7.50 | $291.50 million | $1.76 | 42.02 |
| Public Storage | $2.66 billion | 13.58 | $1.89 billion | $7.04 | 29.51 |
Public Storage has higher revenue and earnings than Life Storage. Public Storage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Life Storage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Public Storage beats Life Storage on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Life Storage
Life Storage, Inc., formerly Sovran Self Storage, Inc., is a self-administered and self-managed real estate company. The Company acquires, owns and manages self-storage properties. The Company owns its assets and conducts its operations through Life Storage LP (the Operating Partnership) and subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had an ownership interest in and/or managed 659 self-storage properties in 29 states under the names Life Storage and Uncle Bob’s Self Storage. As of December 31, 2016, the Company’s properties were located in various states of the United States, such as Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia. As of December 31, 2016, the Company’s properties ranged in size from 18,000 to 195,000 net rentable square feet, with an average of approximately 70,000 net rentable square feet.
About Public Storage
Public Storage is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company’s principal business activities include the ownership and operation of self-storage facilities, which offer storage spaces for lease, generally on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use, ancillary activities, such as merchandise sales and tenant reinsurance to the tenants at its self-storage facilities, as well as the acquisition and development of additional self-storage space. The Company’s segments include Self-Storage Operations, Ancillary Operations, Investment in PS Business Parks, Inc. (PSB) and Investment in Shurgard Europe. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had direct and indirect equity interests in 2,348 self-storage facilities (with approximately 154 million net rentable square feet) located in 38 states in the United States operating under the Public Storage name.
Receive News & Ratings for Life Storage Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Life Storage Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
