Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) and VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) Critical Contrast

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) and VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.8% of Public Storage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of VICI Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of Public Storage shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of VICI Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Public Storage has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, VICI Properties has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Public Storage and VICI Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Public Storage	0	14	7	0	2.33
VICI Properties	0	8	8	0	2.50

Public Storage presently has a consensus target price of $323.42, suggesting a potential upside of 4.70%. VICI Properties has a consensus target price of $29.81, suggesting a potential upside of 24.08%. Given VICI Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe VICI Properties is more favorable than Public Storage.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Public Storage and VICI Properties”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Public Storage	$4.82 billion	11.25	$1.78 billion	$10.48	29.48
VICI Properties	$4.01 billion	6.60	$2.78 billion	$2.58	9.31

VICI Properties has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Public Storage. VICI Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Public Storage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Public Storage and VICI Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Public Storage	41.80%	40.98%	10.19%
VICI Properties	67.50%	9.66%	5.87%

Dividends

Public Storage pays an annual dividend of $12.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. VICI Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.7%. Public Storage pays out 114.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. VICI Properties pays out 71.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. VICI Properties has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. VICI Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

VICI Properties beats Public Storage on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Public Storage

Public Storage, a member of the S&P 500 and FT Global 500, is a REIT that primarily acquires, develops, owns, and operates self-storage facilities. At December 31, 2023, we had: (i) interests in 3,044 self-storage facilities located in 40 states with approximately 218 million net rentable square feet in the United States and (ii) a 35% common equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage Limited (Euronext Brussels: SHUR), which owned 275 self-storage facilities located in seven Western European nations with approximately 15 million net rentable square feet operated under the Shurgard brand. Our headquarters are located in Glendale, California.

About VICI Properties

VICI Properties Inc. is an S&P 500 experiential real estate investment trust that owns one of the largest portfolios of market-leading gaming, hospitality and entertainment destinations, including Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand and the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, three of the most iconic entertainment facilities on the Las Vegas Strip. VICI Properties owns 93 experiential assets across a geographically diverse portfolio consisting of 54 gaming properties and 39 other experiential properties across the United States and Canada. The portfolio is comprised of approximately 127 million square feet and features approximately 60,300 hotel rooms and over 500 restaurants, bars, nightclubs and sportsbooks. Its properties are occupied by industry-leading gaming, leisure and hospitality operators under long-term, triple-net lease agreements. VICI Properties has a growing array of real estate and financing partnerships with leading operators in other experiential sectors, including Bowlero, Cabot, Canyon Ranch, Chelsea Piers, Great Wolf Resorts, Homefield, and Kalahari Resorts. VICI Properties also owns four championship golf courses and 33 acres of undeveloped and underdeveloped land adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip. VICI Properties’ goal is to create the highest quality and most productive experiential real estate portfolio through a strategy of partnering with the highest quality experiential place makers and operators.