Head to Head Analysis: Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) & SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC)

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) and Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SBA Communications and Boston Properties”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SBA Communications	$2.69 billion	8.92	$501.81 million	$7.29	30.55
Boston Properties	$3.43 billion	3.05	$14.27 million	($0.02)	-3,304.00

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for SBA Communications and Boston Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SBA Communications	0	5	7	2	2.79
Boston Properties	1	5	6	0	2.42

SBA Communications presently has a consensus target price of $252.38, indicating a potential upside of 13.31%. Boston Properties has a consensus target price of $78.83, indicating a potential upside of 19.30%. Given Boston Properties’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Boston Properties is more favorable than SBA Communications.

Dividends

SBA Communications pays an annual dividend of $4.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Boston Properties pays an annual dividend of $3.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. SBA Communications pays out 60.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Boston Properties pays out -19,600.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SBA Communications has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Boston Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares SBA Communications and Boston Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SBA Communications	25.76%	-13.13%	6.83%
Boston Properties	0.38%	3.90%	1.24%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.3% of SBA Communications shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.7% of Boston Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of SBA Communications shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Boston Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

SBA Communications has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boston Properties has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC. Our organization is part of the S&P 500 and is one of the top Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) by market capitalization.

About Boston Properties

Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Including properties owned by joint ventures, BXP's portfolio totals 53.3 million square feet and 188 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. BXP's properties include 167 office properties, 14 retail properties (including two retail properties under construction/redevelopment), six residential properties (including one residential property under construction) and one hotel. BXP is well-known for its inhouse building management expertise and responsiveness to clients' needs. BXP holds a superior track record of developing premium Central Business District (CBD) office buildings, successful mixed-use complexes, suburban office centers and build-to-suit projects for a diverse array of creditworthy clients. BXP actively works to promote its growth and operations in a sustainable and responsible manner. BXP has earned a twelfth consecutive GRESB Green Star recognition and the highest GRESB 5-star Rating. BXP, an S&P 500 company, was founded in 1970 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and Edward H. Linde and became a public company in 1997.