Financial Review: Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) vs. Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA)

Smartstop Self Storage REIT (NYSE:SMA) and Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) are both real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Rayonier pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Smartstop Self Storage REIT pays out 319.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rayonier pays out 231.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Rayonier is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	9.68%	2.33%	1.23%
Rayonier	7.83%	3.49%	2.37%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Smartstop Self Storage REIT and Rayonier, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	1	3	4	2	2.70
Rayonier	1	4	0	1	2.17

Smartstop Self Storage REIT currently has a consensus price target of $36.38, suggesting a potential upside of 7.08%. Rayonier has a consensus price target of $24.80, suggesting a potential upside of 15.73%. Given Rayonier’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Rayonier is more favorable than Smartstop Self Storage REIT.

Volatility & Risk

Smartstop Self Storage REIT has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rayonier has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.1% of Rayonier shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Smartstop Self Storage REIT shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Rayonier shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Smartstop Self Storage REIT and Rayonier”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smartstop Self Storage REIT	$306.46 million	6.14	-$1.55 million	$0.51	66.61
Rayonier	$968.29 million	6.59	$474.38 million	$0.45	47.62

Rayonier has higher revenue and earnings than Smartstop Self Storage REIT. Rayonier is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smartstop Self Storage REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Rayonier beats Smartstop Self Storage REIT on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smartstop Self Storage REIT

Symmetry Medical Inc. (Symmetry) is a medical device solutions company, including surgical instruments, orthopedic implants, and sterilization cases and trays. The Company designs, develops and offers worldwide production and supply chain capabilities for these products to customers in the orthopedic industry, and other medical device markets (including but not limited to arthroscopy, dental, laparoscopy, osteobiologic, and endoscopy segments). It also manufactures specialized non-healthcare products, primarily in the aerospace industry. The Company operates in two segments: original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutions and symmetry surgical. On August 15, 2011, the Company acquired PSC Industries, Inc’s Olsen Medical division. On December 29, 2011 it acquired the surgical instruments product portfolio from Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company.

About Rayonier

Rayonier is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand. As of December 31, 2023, Rayonier owned or leased under long-term agreements approximately 2.7 million acres of timberlands located in the U.S. South (1.85 million acres), U.S. Pacific Northwest (418,000 acres) and New Zealand (421,000 acres).