Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM – Get Free Report) and Global Self Storage (NASDAQ:SELF – Get Free Report) are both real estate companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.
Risk and Volatility
Iron Mountain has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Self Storage has a beta of -0.02, meaning that its stock price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Iron Mountain pays an annual dividend of $3.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Global Self Storage pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Iron Mountain pays out 246.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Global Self Storage pays out 161.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Iron Mountain has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Global Self Storage is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Iron Mountain and Global Self Storage”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Iron Mountain | $7.56 billion | 4.52 | $144.59 million | $1.40 | 81.96 |
| Global Self Storage | $12.77 million | 4.42 | $2.04 million | $0.18 | 27.44 |
Iron Mountain has higher revenue and earnings than Global Self Storage. Global Self Storage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Iron Mountain, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Iron Mountain and Global Self Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Iron Mountain | 5.54% | -85.44% | 3.30% |
| Global Self Storage | 16.64% | 4.57% | 3.32% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Iron Mountain and Global Self Storage, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Iron Mountain | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2.71 |
| Global Self Storage | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Iron Mountain presently has a consensus target price of $139.83, suggesting a potential upside of 21.87%. Given Iron Mountain’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Iron Mountain is more favorable than Global Self Storage.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
80.1% of Iron Mountain shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.9% of Global Self Storage shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Iron Mountain shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.7% of Global Self Storage shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Iron Mountain beats Global Self Storage on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is a global leader in information management services. Founded in 1951 and trusted by more than 240,000 customers worldwide, Iron Mountain serves to protect and elevate the power of our customers’ work. Through a range of offerings including digital transformation, data centers, secure records storage, information management, asset lifecycle management, secure destruction and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps businesses bring light to their dark data, enabling customers to unlock value and intelligence from their stored digital and physical assets at speed and with security, while helping them meet their environmental goals.
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.
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