Critical Review: Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) and Public Storage (NYSE:PSA)

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) and Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Apple Hospitality REIT has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Public Storage has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Apple Hospitality REIT pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Public Storage pays an annual dividend of $12.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Apple Hospitality REIT pays out 129.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Public Storage pays out 133.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Apple Hospitality REIT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.7% of Apple Hospitality REIT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.8% of Public Storage shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Apple Hospitality REIT shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Public Storage shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Apple Hospitality REIT and Public Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple Hospitality REIT	12.42%	5.50%	3.56%
Public Storage	36.99%	34.82%	8.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Apple Hospitality REIT and Public Storage, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple Hospitality REIT	0	5	3	0	2.38
Public Storage	0	12	6	2	2.50

Apple Hospitality REIT currently has a consensus price target of $12.64, suggesting a potential downside of 4.18%. Public Storage has a consensus price target of $308.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.02%. Given Public Storage’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Public Storage is more favorable than Apple Hospitality REIT.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Apple Hospitality REIT and Public Storage”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apple Hospitality REIT	$1.41 billion	2.21	$175.36 million	$0.74	17.83
Public Storage	$4.82 billion	11.23	$1.78 billion	$9.02	34.21

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

Summary

Public Storage beats Apple Hospitality REIT on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Apple Hospitality REIT

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE: APLE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns one of the largest and most diverse portfolios of upscale, rooms-focused hotels in the United States. Apple Hospitality's portfolio consists of 223 hotels with more than 29,400 guest rooms located in 87 markets throughout 37 states as well as one property leased to third parties. Concentrated with industry-leading brands, the Company's hotel portfolio consists of 99 Marriott-branded hotels, 119 Hilton-branded hotels and five Hyatt-branded hotels.

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.