VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) vs. Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Financial Contrast

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) and VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Ellington Credit and VICI Properties’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ellington Credit	N/A	15.19%	2.09%
VICI Properties	73.90%	10.80%	6.33%

Dividends

Ellington Credit pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.5%. VICI Properties pays an annual dividend of $1.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Ellington Credit pays out 600.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. VICI Properties pays out 64.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Ellington Credit and VICI Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ellington Credit	0	2	0	0	2.00
VICI Properties	0	2	7	0	2.78

Ellington Credit currently has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential downside of 9.37%. VICI Properties has a consensus target price of $34.11, suggesting a potential upside of 8.67%. Given VICI Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe VICI Properties is more favorable than Ellington Credit.

Risk & Volatility

Ellington Credit has a beta of 1.87, meaning that its share price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, VICI Properties has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ellington Credit and VICI Properties”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ellington Credit	$42.55 million	3.94	$4.56 million	$0.16	41.38
VICI Properties	$3.81 billion	8.70	$2.51 billion	$2.70	11.63

VICI Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Ellington Credit. VICI Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ellington Credit, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.4% of Ellington Credit shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.7% of VICI Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Ellington Credit shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of VICI Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

VICI Properties beats Ellington Credit on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ellington Credit

Ellington Credit Company, a real estate investment trust, acquires, invests in, and manages residential mortgage-and real estate-related assets. It acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), including agency pools and agency collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs); and non-agency RMBS, such as non-agency CMOs, such as investment grade and non-investment grade. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. As a result, it would not be subject to corporate income tax on that portion of its net income that is distributed to shareholders. The company was formerly known as Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT and changed its name to Ellington Credit Company in April 2024. Ellington Credit Company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

About VICI Properties

VICI Properties Inc. is an S&P 500 experiential real estate investment trust that owns one of the largest portfolios of market-leading gaming, hospitality and entertainment destinations, including Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand and the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, three of the most iconic entertainment facilities on the Las Vegas Strip. VICI Properties owns 93 experiential assets across a geographically diverse portfolio consisting of 54 gaming properties and 39 other experiential properties across the United States and Canada. The portfolio is comprised of approximately 127 million square feet and features approximately 60,300 hotel rooms and over 500 restaurants, bars, nightclubs and sportsbooks. Its properties are occupied by industry-leading gaming, leisure and hospitality operators under long-term, triple-net lease agreements. VICI Properties has a growing array of real estate and financing partnerships with leading operators in other experiential sectors, including Bowlero, Cabot, Canyon Ranch, Chelsea Piers, Great Wolf Resorts, Homefield, and Kalahari Resorts. VICI Properties also owns four championship golf courses and 33 acres of undeveloped and underdeveloped land adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip. VICI Properties’ goal is to create the highest quality and most productive experiential real estate portfolio through a strategy of partnering with the highest quality experiential place makers and operators.