Analyzing Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) & Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) and Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.8% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Equinix shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.2% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Equinix shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Lamar Advertising and Equinix’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lamar Advertising	23.90%	54.94%	8.04%
Equinix	15.64%	10.76%	3.83%

Dividends

Lamar Advertising pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Equinix pays an annual dividend of $20.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lamar Advertising pays out 116.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinix pays out 132.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lamar Advertising has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Equinix has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Lamar Advertising is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lamar Advertising and Equinix”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lamar Advertising	$2.27 billion	6.77	$587.15 million	$5.48	27.57
Equinix	$9.22 billion	11.00	$1.35 billion	$15.53	66.17

Equinix has higher revenue and earnings than Lamar Advertising. Lamar Advertising is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equinix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Lamar Advertising has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinix has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Lamar Advertising and Equinix, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lamar Advertising	0	3	2	0	2.40
Equinix	0	4	21	2	2.93

Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus price target of $160.17, suggesting a potential upside of 6.01%. Equinix has a consensus price target of $1,203.40, suggesting a potential upside of 17.11%. Given Equinix’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Equinix is more favorable than Lamar Advertising.

Summary

Equinix beats Lamar Advertising on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals. Lamar Advertising Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

About Equinix

Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.