OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) and BrightSpire Capital (NYSE:BRSP) Critical Review

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) and BrightSpire Capital (NYSE:BRSP) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

56.6% of BrightSpire Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of OUTFRONT Media shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of BrightSpire Capital shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for OUTFRONT Media and BrightSpire Capital, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OUTFRONT Media	0	2	2	0	2.50
BrightSpire Capital	1	3	1	0	2.00

OUTFRONT Media currently has a consensus target price of $18.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.34%. BrightSpire Capital has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.97%. Given BrightSpire Capital’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe BrightSpire Capital is more favorable than OUTFRONT Media.

Profitability

This table compares OUTFRONT Media and BrightSpire Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OUTFRONT Media	12.32%	37.83%	4.15%
BrightSpire Capital	-63.99%	9.51%	2.85%

Volatility and Risk

OUTFRONT Media has a beta of 1.94, indicating that its stock price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BrightSpire Capital has a beta of 1.89, indicating that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares OUTFRONT Media and BrightSpire Capital”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OUTFRONT Media	$1.84 billion	1.72	-$430.40 million	($2.66)	-7.20
BrightSpire Capital	$379.04 million	1.89	-$15.55 million	($0.55)	-9.95

BrightSpire Capital has lower revenue, but higher earnings than OUTFRONT Media. BrightSpire Capital 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

OUTFRONT Media pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. BrightSpire Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.7%. OUTFRONT Media pays out -45.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BrightSpire Capital pays out -116.4% 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. BrightSpire Capital is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location, and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its technology platform, OUTFRONT will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go.

About BrightSpire Capital

BrightSpire Capital, Inc. operates as a commercial real estate (CRE) credit real estate investment trust in the United States and Europe. The company operates through Senior and Mezzanine Loans and Preferred Equity; Net Leased and Other Real Estate; and Corporate and Other segments. It focuses on originating, acquiring, financing, and managing a diversified portfolio of CRE debt investments consisting of first mortgage loans, senior loans, debt securities, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity investments, as well as net leased properties. 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 formerly known as Colony Credit Real Estate, Inc. and changed its name to BrightSpire Capital, Inc. in June 2021. BrightSpire Capital, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in New York, New York.