Head-To-Head Analysis: Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) & SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC)

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) and Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.3% of SBA Communications shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of SBA Communications shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Gaming and Leisure Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

SBA Communications pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.0%. SBA Communications pays out 53.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays out 96.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SBA Communications has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Gaming and Leisure Properties has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares SBA Communications and Gaming and Leisure Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SBA Communications	34.51%	-20.67%	8.56%
Gaming and Leisure Properties	59.01%	19.17%	7.29%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SBA Communications and Gaming and Leisure Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SBA Communications	$2.82 billion	6.90	$1.05 billion	$9.28	19.73
Gaming and Leisure Properties	$1.59 billion	7.49	$825.11 million	$3.41	12.04

SBA Communications has higher revenue and earnings than Gaming and Leisure Properties. Gaming and Leisure Properties 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 summary of recent recommendations and price targets for SBA Communications and Gaming and Leisure Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SBA Communications	0	9	7	0	2.44
Gaming and Leisure Properties	0	6	6	0	2.50

SBA Communications presently has a consensus target price of $225.53, indicating a potential upside of 23.20%. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a consensus target price of $49.27, indicating a potential upside of 20.03%. Given SBA Communications’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SBA Communications is more favorable than Gaming and Leisure Properties.

Volatility and Risk

SBA Communications has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gaming and Leisure Properties has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SBA Communications beats Gaming and Leisure Properties on 12 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 Gaming and Leisure Properties

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.