Head-To-Head Review: Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) vs. OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT)

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) and OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OUTFRONT Media has a beta of 1.84, indicating that its stock price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Blackstone Mortgage Trust and OUTFRONT Media”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	$477.73 million	6.94	-$204.09 million	($0.46)	-42.02
OUTFRONT Media	$1.81 billion	1.51	-$430.40 million	$1.52	10.76

Blackstone Mortgage Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than OUTFRONT Media. Blackstone Mortgage Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than OUTFRONT Media, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Blackstone Mortgage Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.7%. OUTFRONT Media pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust pays out -408.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OUTFRONT Media pays out 78.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Blackstone Mortgage Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Blackstone Mortgage Trust and OUTFRONT Media, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	0	4	3	0	2.43
OUTFRONT Media	0	4	2	0	2.33

Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus target price of $20.25, indicating a potential upside of 4.76%. OUTFRONT Media has a consensus target price of $17.97, indicating a potential upside of 9.84%. Given OUTFRONT Media’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe OUTFRONT Media is more favorable than Blackstone Mortgage Trust.

Profitability

This table compares Blackstone Mortgage Trust and OUTFRONT Media’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Blackstone Mortgage Trust	-11.54%	8.62%	1.57%
OUTFRONT Media	13.30%	40.33%	4.54%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

64.2% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of OUTFRONT Media shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

OUTFRONT Media beats Blackstone Mortgage Trust on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc., a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets. It operates as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. The company was formerly known as Capital Trust, Inc. and changed its name to Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. in May 2013. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media, Inc. leases advertising space on out-of-home advertising structures and sites. Its inventory consists of billboard displays, which are primarily located on the most heavily traveled highways & roadways, and transit advertising displays operated under exclusive multi-year contracts with municipalities in large cities across the U.S. and Canada. It operates through the U.S. Media and other segments. The U.S. Media segment includes U.S. Billboard and Transit. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in New York, NY.