Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX – Get Free Report) and Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR – Get Free Report) are both large-cap real estate companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
94.9% of Equinix shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Equinix shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.2% of Lamar Advertising shares are owned by company 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 Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Equinix and Lamar Advertising, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Equinix | 0 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 2.93 |
| Lamar Advertising | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
Profitability
This table compares Equinix and Lamar Advertising’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Equinix | 15.64% | 10.76% | 3.83% |
| Lamar Advertising | 23.90% | 54.94% | 8.04% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Equinix and Lamar Advertising”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Equinix | $9.22 billion | 11.09 | $1.35 billion | $15.53 | 66.71 |
| Lamar Advertising | $2.33 billion | 6.58 | $587.15 million | $5.48 | 27.51 |
Equinix has higher revenue and earnings than Lamar Advertising. Lamar Advertising is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equinix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Equinix has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lamar Advertising has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Equinix pays an annual dividend of $20.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Lamar Advertising pays an annual dividend of $6.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equinix pays out 132.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Lamar Advertising pays out 120.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinix has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Lamar Advertising has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Lamar Advertising is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary
Equinix beats Lamar Advertising on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.
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.
Receive News & Ratings for Equinix Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Equinix and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
