Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF) vs. Global Medical REIT (NYSE:GMRE) Critical Review

Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF) and Global Medical REIT (NYSE:GMRE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Global Self Storage pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Global Medical REIT pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Global Self Storage pays out 181.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Global Medical REIT pays out -1,200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Global Medical REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Global Self Storage and Global Medical REIT”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Self Storage	$12.53 million	4.62	$2.12 million	$0.16	31.88
Global Medical REIT	$138.78 million	3.28	$6.63 million	($0.25)	-135.69

Global Medical REIT has higher revenue and earnings than Global Self Storage. Global Medical REIT 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

28.9% of Global Self Storage shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.5% of Global Medical REIT shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of Global Self Storage shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.5% of Global Medical REIT shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Global Self Storage and Global Medical REIT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Self Storage	14.13%	3.81%	2.76%
Global Medical REIT	0.79%	0.25%	0.09%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Global Self Storage and Global Medical REIT, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Self Storage	0	1	0	0	2.00
Global Medical REIT	1	2	3	1	2.57

Global Medical REIT has a consensus price target of $41.50, indicating a potential upside of 22.34%. Given Global Medical REIT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Global Medical REIT is more favorable than Global Self Storage.

Volatility and Risk

Global Self Storage has a beta of 0.01, meaning that its share price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Medical REIT has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Global Medical REIT beats Global Self Storage on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Global Medical REIT

Global Medical REIT Inc. (GMRE) is a net-lease medical office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and acquires healthcare facilities and leases those facilities to physician groups and regional and national healthcare systems.