Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) is one of the top companies in the real estate investment trust (REIT) space. It's the industry leader in the self-storage sector, with 3,369 properties comprising 243 million square feet of rentable space across 40 states.

Like most REITs, Public Storage is known more for using its free cash flow to pay dividends (it currently yields 4%, well above the S&P 500's 1.3% average). However, the top self-storage REIT believes its shares trade at such an attractive value right now that it recently used some of its financial flexibility to buy back $200 million of its stock. Here's why the REIT thinks it's a great investment right now.

Public Storage has grown briskly over the years. The REIT's same-store net operating income (NOI) has increased at a 4.9% compound annual rate since 2004, much faster than the core commercial real estate sector's average of 3%. The company has benefited from durable, steadily rising demand for self-storage space, which has kept its occupancy levels high while enabling the REIT to raise rental rates steadily. It has also benefited from its growing scale and operating efficiency gains, which have helped it to deliver sector-leading NOI margins.

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Source Fool.com