Reviewing Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) & OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT)

Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) and OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and OUTFRONT Media’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Four Corners Property Trust	37.53%	7.24%	3.90%
OUTFRONT Media	12.66%	37.44%	4.65%

Volatility and Risk

Four Corners Property Trust has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OUTFRONT Media has a beta of 1.56, suggesting that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.7% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Four Corners Property Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of OUTFRONT Media shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Four Corners Property Trust and OUTFRONT Media, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Four Corners Property Trust	0	6	4	1	2.55
OUTFRONT Media	0	1	6	0	2.86

Four Corners Property Trust presently has a consensus target price of $26.45, indicating a potential upside of 12.02%. OUTFRONT Media has a consensus target price of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.69%. Given Four Corners Property Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Four Corners Property Trust is more favorable than OUTFRONT Media.

Dividends

Four Corners Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. OUTFRONT Media pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Four Corners Property Trust pays out 139.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. OUTFRONT Media pays out 89.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Four Corners Property Trust has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Four Corners Property Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Four Corners Property Trust and OUTFRONT Media”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Four Corners Property Trust	$294.13 million	8.81	$112.36 million	$1.09	21.67
OUTFRONT Media	$1.83 billion	3.09	$147.00 million	$1.47	21.88

OUTFRONT Media has higher revenue and earnings than Four Corners Property Trust. Four Corners Property Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than OUTFRONT Media, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

OUTFRONT Media beats Four Corners Property Trust on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Four Corners Property Trust

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FCPT) is a real estate investment trust that acquires, owns and leases properties across the United States. Its portfolio is focused primarily on restaurants, with additional properties used for other retail and service businesses. FCPT generally leases its properties to operating companies under long-term net leases, which typically make tenants responsible for property expenses such as taxes, insurance and maintenance. The company was established as an independent public company in 2015 through a spin-off from Darden Restaurants, and its initial portfolio included restaurant properties.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media Inc. is an out-of-home advertising company that sells advertising space on billboards, transit displays and other outdoor media. Its portfolio includes traditional and digital formats, helping advertisers reach audiences in public spaces and while traveling. The company operates primarily in the United States and Canada. Its offerings include large-format roadside advertising as well as displays on buses, rail systems and other transit properties. OUTFRONT Media traces its history to CBS Outdoor Americas, which became an independent public company in 2014 and adopted the OUTFRONT Media name.