Financial Survey: National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) and Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL)

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) and Global Net Lease (NYSE:GNL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares National Storage Affiliates Trust and Global Net Lease’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Storage Affiliates Trust	8.92%	4.91%	1.28%
Global Net Lease	-48.52%	-10.27%	-3.49%

Risk and Volatility

National Storage Affiliates Trust has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Net Lease has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Storage Affiliates Trust and Global Net Lease”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Storage Affiliates Trust	$756.02 million	2.99	$111.52 million	$0.61	48.14
Global Net Lease	$805.01 million	2.16	-$131.57 million	($1.43)	-5.56

National Storage Affiliates Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Global Net Lease. Global Net Lease is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Storage Affiliates Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

National Storage Affiliates Trust pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.8%. Global Net Lease pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.6%. National Storage Affiliates Trust pays out 373.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Global Net Lease pays out -53.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Storage Affiliates Trust has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Global Net Lease is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for National Storage Affiliates Trust and Global Net Lease, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Storage Affiliates Trust	6	8	0	0	1.57
Global Net Lease	0	2	3	1	2.83

National Storage Affiliates Trust currently has a consensus price target of $33.64, indicating a potential upside of 14.55%. Global Net Lease has a consensus price target of $9.20, indicating a potential upside of 15.80%. Given Global Net Lease’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Global Net Lease is more favorable than National Storage Affiliates Trust.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

100.0% of National Storage Affiliates Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.2% of Global Net Lease shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.7% of National Storage Affiliates Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Global Net Lease 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.

Summary

National Storage Affiliates Trust beats Global Net Lease on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Storage Affiliates Trust

National Storage Affiliates Trust is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, focused on the ownership, operation and acquisition of self storage properties predominantly located within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas throughout the United States. As of December 31, 2023, the Company held ownership interests in and operated 1,050 self storage properties, located in 42 states and Puerto Rico with approximately 68.6 million rentable square feet, which excludes 39 self storage properties classified as held for sale to be sold to a third party. NSA is one of the largest owners and operators of self storage properties among public and private companies in the United States.

About Global Net Lease

Global Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GNL) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust listed on the NYSE. The firm focused on acquiring a diversified global portfolio of commercial properties, with an emphasis on sale-leaseback transactions involving single tenant, mission critical income producing net-leased assets across the United States, Western and Northern Europe.