Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM – Get Free Report) and Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Piedmont Realty Trust and Lamar Advertising’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | -12.44% | -4.51% | -1.75% |
| Lamar Advertising | 19.27% | 43.02% | 6.51% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
84.5% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of Lamar Advertising shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Piedmont Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of Lamar Advertising shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | $570.32 million | 1.88 | -$79.06 million | ($0.57) | -15.12 |
| Lamar Advertising | $2.21 billion | 6.00 | $361.87 million | $4.26 | 30.70 |
Lamar Advertising has higher revenue and earnings than Piedmont Realty Trust. Piedmont Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lamar Advertising, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Piedmont Realty Trust and Lamar Advertising, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Piedmont Realty Trust | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Lamar Advertising | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.20 |
Piedmont Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.41%. Lamar Advertising has a consensus target price of $133.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.70%. Given Piedmont Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Piedmont Realty Trust is more favorable than Lamar Advertising.
Volatility & Risk
Piedmont Realty Trust has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lamar Advertising has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Lamar Advertising beats Piedmont Realty Trust on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Piedmont Realty Trust
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. The Company was designated an Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was the only office REIT headquartered in the Southeast to receive those designations. Approximately 85% of the Company's square footage is Energy Star certified and nearly 70% is LEED certified. Piedmont is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
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.
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