Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF) and Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple (NYSE:GRP.U) Critical Review

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple and Global Self Storage”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple	$386.07 million	7.62	$101.24 million	$3.58	13.10
Global Self Storage	$12.32 million	4.66	$2.94 million	$0.27	18.85

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 Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple and Global Self Storage, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple	0	0	0	0	0.00
Global Self Storage	0	0	1	0	3.00

Global Self Storage has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 27.70%. Given Global Self Storage’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Global Self Storage is more favorable than Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple.

Dividends

Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple pays an annual dividend of $1.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Global Self Storage pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple pays out 44.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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.

Profitability

This table compares Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple and Global Self Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple	55.97%	5.71%	3.34%
Global Self Storage	25.47%	6.55%	4.73%

Summary

Global Self Storage beats Granite Real Estate Inc. Staple on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.