Comparing American Tower (NYSE:AMT) and Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR)

Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) and American Tower (NYSE:AMT) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Extra Space Storage and American Tower”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Extra Space Storage	$3.45 billion	8.40	$974.00 million	$4.53	30.24
American Tower	$10.64 billion	7.57	$2.53 billion	$7.27	23.79

American Tower has higher revenue and earnings than Extra Space Storage. American Tower is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Extra Space Storage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Extra Space Storage pays an annual dividend of $6.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. American Tower pays an annual dividend of $7.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Extra Space Storage pays out 143.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. American Tower pays out 98.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Extra Space Storage has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and American Tower has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Extra Space Storage and American Tower’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Extra Space Storage	27.80%	6.70%	3.27%
American Tower	31.08%	32.76%	5.36%

Volatility and Risk

Extra Space Storage has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Tower has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Extra Space Storage and American Tower, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Extra Space Storage	0	9	7	0	2.44
American Tower	0	3	16	1	2.90

Extra Space Storage currently has a consensus price target of $148.93, indicating a potential upside of 8.71%. American Tower has a consensus price target of $215.29, indicating a potential upside of 24.46%. Given American Tower’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe American Tower is more favorable than Extra Space Storage.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.1% of Extra Space Storage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of American Tower shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Extra Space Storage shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of American Tower shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

American Tower beats Extra Space Storage on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Extra Space Storage

Extra Space Storage Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and a member of the S&P 500. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned and/or operated 3,714 self-storage stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C. The Company's stores comprise approximately 2.6 million units and approximately 283.0 million square feet of rentable space operating under the Extra Space, Life Storage and Storage Express brands. The Company offers customers a wide selection of conveniently located and secure storage units across the country, including boat storage, RV storage and business storage. It is the largest operator of self-storage properties in the United States.

About American Tower

American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.