American Tower (NYSE:AMT – Get Free Report) and Gladstone Commercial (NASDAQ:GOOD – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings for American Tower and Gladstone Commercial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| American Tower | 0 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 2.76 |
| Gladstone Commercial | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
American Tower currently has a consensus price target of $218.05, indicating a potential upside of 19.99%. Gladstone Commercial has a consensus price target of $12.75, indicating a potential downside of 0.78%. Given American Tower’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Tower is more favorable than Gladstone Commercial.
Volatility & Risk
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares American Tower and Gladstone Commercial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| American Tower | $10.64 billion | 7.96 | $2.53 billion | $6.19 | 29.36 |
| Gladstone Commercial | $161.34 million | 3.86 | $19.29 million | $0.14 | 91.79 |
American Tower has higher revenue and earnings than Gladstone Commercial. American Tower is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gladstone Commercial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
92.7% of American Tower shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.5% of Gladstone Commercial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of American Tower shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Gladstone Commercial 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.
Dividends
American Tower pays an annual dividend of $7.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Gladstone Commercial pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.3%. American Tower pays out 115.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Gladstone Commercial pays out 857.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. American Tower has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares American Tower and Gladstone Commercial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| American Tower | 26.81% | 27.79% | 4.57% |
| Gladstone Commercial | 11.95% | 10.75% | 1.58% |
Summary
American Tower beats Gladstone Commercial on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About American Tower
American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.
About Gladstone Commercial
Gladstone Commercial Corporation is a real estate investment trust focused on acquiring, owning, and operating net leased industrial and office properties across the United States. Including payments through January 2024, Gladstone Commercial has paid 229 consecutive monthly cash distributions on its common stock. Prior to paying distributions on a monthly basis, Gladstone Commercial paid five consecutive quarterly cash distributions. Gladstone Commercial has never skipped or deferred a distribution since its inception in 2003.
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