Critical Survey: Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) vs. National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA)

National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) and Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares National Storage Affiliates Trust and Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Storage Affiliates Trust	20.59%	10.35%	2.98%
Granite Point Mortgage Trust	-87.21%	0.95%	0.27%

Risk & Volatility

National Storage Affiliates Trust has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.86, indicating that its stock price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares National Storage Affiliates Trust and Granite Point Mortgage Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Storage Affiliates Trust	$858.06 million	3.35	$156.67 million	$1.71	22.02
Granite Point Mortgage Trust	$263.73 million	0.57	-$63.20 million	($3.86)	-0.77

National Storage Affiliates Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Granite Point Mortgage Trust. Granite Point Mortgage Trust 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 6.1%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. National Storage Affiliates Trust pays out 133.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Granite Point Mortgage Trust pays out -5.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Granite Point Mortgage Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

100.0% of National Storage Affiliates Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of Granite Point Mortgage Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.0% of National Storage Affiliates Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Granite Point Mortgage Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for National Storage Affiliates Trust and Granite Point Mortgage Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Storage Affiliates Trust	2	6	1	0	1.89
Granite Point Mortgage Trust	0	2	2	0	2.50

National Storage Affiliates Trust currently has a consensus target price of $43.06, indicating a potential upside of 14.37%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a consensus target price of $4.58, indicating a potential upside of 53.29%. Given Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Granite Point Mortgage Trust is more favorable than National Storage Affiliates Trust.

Summary

National Storage Affiliates Trust beats Granite Point Mortgage Trust on 10 of the 16 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 Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc., a real estate investment trust, originates, invests in, and manages senior floating-rate commercial mortgage loans, and other debt and debt-like commercial real estate investments in the United States. The company provides intermediate-term bridge or transitional financing for various purposes, including acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancing, as well as a range of business plans, including lease-up, renovation, repositioning, and repurposing of the commercial property. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in New York, New York.