Comparing OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) & MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA)

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) and OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MFA Financial and OUTFRONT Media”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MFA Financial	$605.60 million	2.10	$80.16 million	($0.08)	-155.36
OUTFRONT Media	$1.82 billion	1.53	-$430.40 million	($2.66)	-6.32

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

65.3% of MFA Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of MFA Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of OUTFRONT Media shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

MFA Financial has a beta of 2.16, suggesting that its stock price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OUTFRONT Media has a beta of 1.94, suggesting that its stock price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MFA Financial	14.22%	10.02%	1.76%
OUTFRONT Media	12.32%	37.83%	4.15%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for MFA Financial and OUTFRONT Media, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MFA Financial	0	1	4	0	2.80
OUTFRONT Media	0	3	1	0	2.25

MFA Financial currently has a consensus target price of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.59%. OUTFRONT Media has a consensus target price of $16.00, indicating a potential downside of 4.88%. Given MFA Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MFA Financial is more favorable than OUTFRONT Media.

Dividends

MFA Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.3%. OUTFRONT Media pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.1%. MFA Financial pays out -1,749.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OUTFRONT Media pays out -45.1% 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. MFA Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

MFA Financial beats OUTFRONT Media on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage securities, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in New York, New York.

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.