Contrasting SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) & Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN)

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) and Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares SBA Communications and Brandywine Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SBA Communications	25.76%	-13.13%	6.83%
Brandywine Realty Trust	-60.08%	-24.59%	-8.33%

Dividends

SBA Communications pays an annual dividend of $3.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Brandywine Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.8%. SBA Communications pays out 61.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brandywine Realty Trust pays out -33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Brandywine Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.4% of SBA Communications shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Brandywine Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of SBA Communications shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Brandywine Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

SBA Communications has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brandywine Realty Trust has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SBA Communications and Brandywine Realty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SBA Communications	$2.71 billion	8.75	$501.81 million	$6.34	34.80
Brandywine Realty Trust	$513.78 million	1.87	-$196.79 million	($1.80)	-3.08

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for SBA Communications and Brandywine Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SBA Communications	0	3	9	1	2.85
Brandywine Realty Trust	0	2	1	0	2.33

SBA Communications presently has a consensus price target of $257.23, suggesting a potential upside of 16.57%. Brandywine Realty Trust has a consensus price target of $5.83, suggesting a potential upside of 5.11%. Given SBA Communications’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SBA Communications is more favorable than Brandywine Realty Trust.

Summary

SBA Communications beats Brandywine Realty Trust on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC. Our organization is part of the S&P 500 and is one of the top Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) by market capitalization.

About Brandywine Realty Trust

Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) is one of the largest, publicly traded, full-service, integrated real estate companies in the United States with a core focus in the Philadelphia and Austin markets. Organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), we own, develop, lease and manage an urban, town center and transit-oriented portfolio comprising 160 properties and 22.6 million square feet as of September 30, 2023 which excludes assets held for sale. Our purpose is to shape, connect and inspire the world around us through our expertise, the relationships we foster, the communities in which we live and work, and the history we build together.