Financial Comparison: SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) and First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR)

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

Volatility and Risk

First Industrial Realty Trust has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SBA Communications has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.8% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of SBA Communications shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Industrial Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of SBA Communications shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares First Industrial Realty Trust and SBA Communications”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Industrial Realty Trust	$727.08 million	12.02	$247.44 million	$2.74	24.05
SBA Communications	$2.82 billion	6.85	$1.05 billion	$9.50	19.15

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for First Industrial Realty Trust and SBA Communications, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Industrial Realty Trust	0	7	7	1	2.60
SBA Communications	0	8	9	1	2.61

First Industrial Realty Trust currently has a consensus target price of $66.21, indicating a potential upside of 0.48%. SBA Communications has a consensus target price of $235.28, indicating a potential upside of 29.34%. Given SBA Communications’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SBA Communications is more favorable than First Industrial Realty Trust.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Industrial Realty Trust	47.97%	12.99%	6.41%
SBA Communications	35.66%	-20.90%	8.98%

Dividends

First Industrial Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. SBA Communications pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Industrial Realty Trust pays out 73.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SBA Communications pays out 52.6% 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. First Industrial Realty Trust has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and SBA Communications has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. First Industrial Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

SBA Communications beats First Industrial Realty Trust on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Industrial Realty Trust

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR) is a leading U.S.-only owner, operator, developer and acquirer of logistics properties. Through our fully integrated operating and investing platform, we provide high quality facilities and industry-leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional firms that are essential for their supply chains. Our portfolio and new investments are concentrated in 15 target MSAs with an emphasis on supply-constrained, coastally oriented markets. In total, we own and have under development approximately 68.5 million square feet of industrial space as of December 31, 2023.

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.